In some ways I feel like the trust between tech workers and companies started to break down when engineers for the past few years have been jumping ship every year or so to maximize TC.
I think it's the opposite. People realized that they were getting 2-4% raises and would forever be below market compensation so they went through the crappy experience of interviewing to get their compensation back to.market.
If you do job x and your employer pays someone 20%-50% more to do the same job, what are your options?
They wouldn't jump ship if you paid them what they were worth on the market. Or gave them the barest inkling that they were secure in their organization and not subject to arbitrary layoffs. Or if there were some sort of pension plan. Or if companies didn't keep foisting more and more insurance costs onto employees. Or if applying for a job didn't take 3-4 months and unemployment covered 100% during that transition period.
Job loyalty didn't just die, it was killed along with pensions and tenure. A lot of employees are applying to other jobs because, it takes so long to get through the application process, they can't rely on getting another job in time if they get laid off. Job hopping is the new job security. The fact that it is the only way to get a raise only accelerates it all.
If you do job x and your employer pays someone 20%-50% more to do the same job, what are your options?