JS Tan

Why layoffs are the new normal in tech A story of labor relations in America's most innovative industry.

The Amazon layoffs are another sign of a new era of labor relations in tech. For those interested in the bigger picture, here’s an analysis I wrote on why layoffs have become so common: www.valueadded.tech/p/why-layoff...

first page of "Dependent development in digital capitalism: The politics of startup policies in the new periphery." abstract: As digital technology’s economic importance increases, policymakers pivot to supporting startups – new, small, high-risk firms that produce technological innovation. Tracing the passage of startup policies in Brazil and Spain between 2014 – 2022, this article argues that startup policies do little to reduce peripheral countries’ dependence on the core. In each case, startups advocated for these policies by relying on financial and organizational resources from the giant US-based technology firms known as “Big Tech.” The article makes three contributions to the framework of dependent development. First, it reinforces existing observations that dependence on Big Tech extends beyond the Global South. Second, it revives political analysis of dependency, exploring the political conditions for economic development in the periphery. Lastly, it shows how startups’ political dependence on Big Tech implies important limits on startups’ ability to lead peripheral economies out of dependence on the core.

Out now in Competition & Change
@compchange.bsky.social

“Dependent development in digital
capitalism: The politics of startup
policies in the new periphery”

@journals.sagepub.com
#polisky
journals.sagepub.com/doi/abs/10.1...

1/n

Cc @nataliyan.bsky.social @emilymazo.bsky.social

📢 New article alert 📢 "Unlikely Organizers: The Rise of Tech Worker Labor Activism" is out with @ilrreview.bsky.social

@js-tan.bsky.social, @emilymazo.bsky.social, and I find tech cos with political and social activism in the workplace saw 1.3x more labor activism in the next 6-12 months (1/2)

So excited to share our new article on tech worker activism, co-authored with @nataliyan.bsky.social and @emilymazo.bsky.social, just published in the @ilrreview.bsky.social!

Sage Journals: Discover world-class research Subscription and open access journals from Sage, the world's leading independent academic publisher.

Baby’s first published academic article! @js-tan.bsky.social and @nataliyan.bsky.social and I analyzed the @techactions.bsky.social archive and find that tech worker labor organizing stands on the shoulders of prior struggle- conflict begets class conflict journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/...

The Labour Foundations of China’s Consumer-First Internet — CLaSP Blog JS Tan explains how cheap labour and flexible employment practices encourage internet firms to build consumer platforms.

Latest on the CLaSP blog: Why has China’s digital economy developed along such a distinctly consumer-facing path? @js-tan.bsky.social explains 'The Labour Foundations of China’s Consumer-First Internet'

www.claspblog.org/blogposts/7l...

America can still build (data centers) The Abundance thesis is that America can't build anymore, so how do we explain the surge of data center construction across the country?

In this new piece, I explain why focusing only on red tape and proceduralism (as the Abundance thesis does) misses the bigger story about the American Political Economy and fails to explain the staggering build out of data centers across the country.

www.valueadded.tech/p/america-ca...

Thanks Peter!

Is China an Engineering or Developmental State? Breakneck is excellent, but could use a touch more developmental thinking.

In my review of Dan Wang's Breakneck, I argue that China’s trajectory looks less unique—and less puzzling—when viewed through the lens of the developmental state, a framework long used to explain the (also building-heavy) rise of Japan and Korea.

www.valueadded.tech/p/is-china-a...

Re-introducing Value Added And a short guide to some of the key themes of this newsletter.

Just published a reintroduction to my newsletter, highlighting some of the key cross-cutting themes that tie my interests together.

www.valueadded.tech/p/re-introdu...

a simple, dark green flier with a bold, white text header: From Tech Lash To Tech Fash: Strategic reflections on a decade of collective organizing in computing The flier includes the following text and details: Hybrid Workshop @ Aarhus - Tuesday August 19, 8:30–11:30 am EST / 2:30–5:30 pm CEST Computing is a field plagued with presentism, oriented towards the new in ways that limit our design and research practices - as well as our capacity to understand and collectively respond to emerging crises. To improve our sensemaking and strategizing about today's crises, this workshop explores what Tamara Kneese has deemed the last decade's shift from "techlash" to "tech fash". What have we learned from the era of misinformation and bias, of "surveillance capitalism" and tech worker organizing that can inform our struggle against the increasing power of a techno-fascist oligarchy? We will also look towards previous generations of computing professionals and activists, who likewise sought to address the harms of emerging automated systems and the complicity of computing within violent, imperialist projects. This workshop will create space for participants to explore these questions collectively, bridging past and present moments in an effort to devise strategies moving forward. RSVP by Aug 12 https://tech-organizing-reflections.github.io/

Very excited to share this workshop I'm helping to host on August 19: "From Tech Lash To Tech Fash: Strategic reflections on a decade of collective organizing in computing"
tech-organizing-reflections.github.io

Sunday at the garden party for Curtis Yarvin and the new, new right What you learn at a gathering of neoreactionaries, Very Online rightwingers and the formerly cancelled

One of the most eye-opening stories I’ve read about how the new right is really just as a bunch of art-boy edgelords; a social club of cancelled men more than a group with any coherent political vision.

www.ft.com/content/0e24...

The case for sabotage Creative tactics for a tech worker strike

We've just published the first response to our call for new organizing tactics in the tech sector, by an anonymous software engineer: The Case for Sabotage collectiveactionintech.substack.com/p/the-case-f...

Rethinking AI diffusion in China Enterprise software and cloud adoption have a key role in AI diffusion.

My take on the debate on AI diffusion in China.

www.valueadded.tech/p/rethinking...

"Boss culture", 996, and KPI-driven management in China's tech sector A viral Alibaba resignation letter gives an inside look at labor relations in China's tech sector.

A viral resignation letter from a veteran Alibaba employee offers a rare look at the company’s culture—and the issues now holding it back. Here’s my take on what the letter reveals, and what it means for China’s tech giants as they pivot into the AI era.

www.valueadded.tech/p/the-innova...

Why layoffs are the new normal in tech A story of labor relations in America's most innovative industry.

Microsoft just laid off another 9,000 workers—its largest cut in two years. If you’re trying to make sense of what’s happening across the industry, here’s my recent piece on how to understand the non-stop waves of tech layoffs.

www.valueadded.tech/p/why-layoff...

Time For A New Playbook? A call for new strategies to rebuild the tech worker movement.

The tech worker movement is in crisis and we want to hear from YOU!

We’re launching a new series to highlight the problems that workers are facing in this new political environment. Submissions are open until July 30th, 2025. Please send your responses to hello@collectiveaction.tech

Why layoffs are the new normal in tech A story of labor relations in America's most innovative industry.

This week, I wrote about the ongoing tech layoffs- a topic that I’ve been thinking about for a long time both as a former tech worker and an organizer in the sector. I argue that layoffs are the tip of a broader transformation in labor relations happening in tech.
www.valueadded.tech/p/why-layoff...

AI WORKERS' INQUIRY AI Workers' Inquiry is a FAccT 2025 CRAFT workshop that brings together workers, organizers, and labor experts to explore how AI is transforming our workplaces and discuss strategies for collective re...

Join us at #FAccT2025 for the AI Workers’ Inquiry CRAFT workshop, where workers, organizers, and labor experts will explore how AI is transforming our workplaces and discuss strategies for collective resistance. RSVP and more info: ai-workers-inquiry.github.io

DeepSeeking the Truth | JS Tan Panic about the rise of DeepSeek says more about Silicon Valley than it does about the reality of innovation in China.

When DeepSeek released its latest AI model earlier this year, Silicon Valley panicked. Some claimed it was a product of the Chinese state—or the result of industrial espionage. But as @js-tan.bsky.social argues, the reality is far more complex.

thanks! 🙏

The Return of Vertical Integration Cars, clouds, and the turn away from the fissured firm.

"Across sectors, vertical integration is re-emerging not as a relic of the past, but as a forward-looking strategy for resilience, coordination, and control."

Another great post from @js-tan.bsky.social's indispensable newsletter

www.valueadded.tech/p/the-return...

Thanks Ben!

Great analysis of the political economy of China's "overcapacity" in electric vehicles.

"This is where China's political structure is a problem. The extent to which the Chinese state is embedded and autonomous is complicated by the loose coupling between central and local governments."

The key idea is that China's decentralized state-structure enables *political* competition among local governments, which creates strong incentives to back local firms and thus a systemic reluctance to allow inefficient or underperforming firms to exit the market.

Explaining overcapacity in China's EV sector How China's decentralized state structure enables involution-style competition.

This piece looks at how China’s industrial policy—while effective at scaling production—also drives involution-style competition, marked by overcapacity and unsustainable price-cutting. Contrary to how Beijing is often portrayed, this is not its intended outcome.

www.valueadded.tech/p/explaining...

The political economy of China's cloud A deep dive.

Last week, ChinaTalk ran my primer on China’s cloud computing sector. This week, I’m back with a deep dive—unpacking the institutional and structural constraints shaping the industry that underpins China’s AI ambitions.

And heads up: this one’s a long one.

www.valueadded.tech/p/the-politi...

Why China's Cloud Lags A primer

Thrilled to share my latest piece in @chinatalk.bsky.social on the political economy of China’s cloud computing industry—and how the country’s distinct features has set its cloud firms on a different path from their U.S. counterparts.

www.chinatalk.media/p/the-politi...

Tariff Wreckage: The Myth of America's Manufacturing Comeback Trump’s tariffs promise industrial revival. Even if it does, it overlooks the simple fact that fixing American industry alone won't restore middle-class prosperity.

Trump's promise to bring back American manufacturing has two problems: 1) modern manufacturing won't generate many jobs and 2) the factory jobs that people are nostalgic for were union jobs—something that Trump & Musk are actively undermining.

www.valueadded.tech/p/tariff-wre...