The challenges I see with green card applications now are not with PERM applications (yet) but with EB1A and NIW applications. The primary stumbling blocks for PERM applications are layoffs, which require companies to suspend and pause the PERM process. This is a big issue with big tech because of the constant downsizing over the past couple of years.

PERM died as a viable option through two things:

1) constant layoffs which each time pause PERM authorization

2) some (but not all) major tech companies having to settle with the DoL or other similar entity about how they were making applications public for the labor market test. These settlements did not happen during this admin. And the higher exposure to average job seekers means defending the PERM is harder (partly bc you cannot claim that your employee is a higher quality employee, only that the on paper requirements like a degree and knowledge of various things, is met or not met)

I beg to differ. The companies have made it difficult by doing constant rounds of layoffs. The state of unemployment in the sector is such that pretty much any vanilla position could be filled by a US LPR or citizen and the process is designed to obfuscate it so those people never see the job (eg internal job posting boards, advertising in physical newspapers).

PERM isn't meant to be an automatic process. I get that the employee wants permanent status but the employer can't have it both ways. You can't constantly need to be doing layoffs AND be unable to fill what is probably a pretty generic position (like "software engineer").