I just read the linked Fast Company article [0]. One question that particularly frustrates me about this process is: why are the former leadership of companies that become enshittified so quiet about it? Do they just get paid out with restrictive NDAs?

One of the only exceptions to this I can remember is the founder of Whatsapp, who gave an interview pretty critical of Meta some years back after it acquired Whatsapp.

[0] https://www.fastcompany.com/91542655/bitwarden-scrubs-always...

> Do they just get paid out with restrictive NDAs?

Yes, that's a very common part of an exit package for executives. Speaking from some first- and second-hand experience, you can get paid a hefty sum (6-12mo of salary worth of cash) for signing an agreement that has some amount of limits on what you can say, to whom.

There's also some kind of what I think of as a LinkedIn effect - there's a disincentive to talk trash about any organization publicly, since that's now attached to your name and might make future employers/organizations leery of hiring someone who might air their dirty laundry.