Microsoft has made headlines for mass layoffs in recent times, but former company engineer Dave Plummer has explained how things were done a quarter of a century ago – and what it was like living through the tech giant's notorious stack ranking system.

While Plummer obviously can't speak from personal experience about the hiring and firing practices of Microsoft today, he was there in the 1990s.

"At the time we didn't have a big issue with it because the hiring was really selective and strict," he said. "I felt like I was really lucky to get in there."

However, despite the "merciless" interview process, there were still a few people who would make it through, even if they weren't particularly gifted in the coding department.

"Two things would happen," recalled Plummer. "If that person

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