Not quite sure why you're getting downvoted. Might be due to your friend's unsubstantiated claim tech workers (on average) are overpaid while underdelivering. However, the core observation is reasonable. Layoffs create desperation in the labor pool which is likely to drive median tech wages down. This benefits companies opex long-term as they restart the hiring cycle over the next couple quarters. Doubtful we're seeing market-wide collusion on these layoffs but it certainly creates an institutional hiring advantage.
I've always wondered how flight search sites develop a system for such a difficult problem with minimal API options and Google limiting access to QPX. There seems to be a lot of data fragmentation in the travel industry too. How do you automate under those constraints? Are there good alternatives to QPX?