This is an interesting discussion. My issue during the "optimization" I was recently part of was that this group had but their blood sweat and tears into building this large custom software architecture over years, under bad leadership, and they didn't have the savvy to understand how to look at their company financial results. So when we purchased them, got to actually evaluating how they worked, and the value there, I was essentially the guy who said we need to scrap all this. And the guys just didn't understand. There were also H1B and green card guys their who had to scramble to stay in the US at all. It was hard to see the individual engineers lose their work, which is why they worked. They loved their code and designs and had become way too involved, and these were older guys, in their late 40's and 50's. Their mistake, yes. There is a first time for everything, and I've already learned the lesson about everyone can be let go, including myself, but it was my first time being THAT guy. I won't feel so much next time. Now of course I feel fine with how many of my own company guys I kept employed.... I'm learning alot.