It's kind of a different software that are being developed these days. Software development used to be highly original, analytical and creative, but now it's like endlessly iterative on the same problems and tools. That explains the number of programmers/engineers around. My guess is that the highly selective group of engineers who are still working on the most original problems sit in their own office (preferably their home office, e.g. Linus). For the rest of us, it's more like a factory floor.
In my last job, it started out with all offices to accommodate devices under test and test equipment. It went to large cubes still with enough space for test equipment.
Then all the equipment had to go into the lab, with a network connection. Fine, I pressed little ARM boards into service doing what we had to do near the target. On their dime, without an approved project. They we lost that lab and had to reuse a chem. lab where you had to wear goggles for no good[1] reason.
[1] they closed the building with the offices and good labs. It sat there literally mouldering. It will have to be torn down. That design of building cannot be "stored" with no HVAC.
At some point it's not about cost - you're the bloody Ogallala Sioux and they're "pushing you off the land."
Did I mention I don't work there any more? They are free to six-sigma the remaining nothing into the purest of management oblivion.
