If you are watching news reports and reading posts on the latest tech layoffs, you might feel like the marketplace is falling apart. Every day my LinkedIn feed shows the latest in announced layoffs on the right side of my screen. Every day it updates constantly.
If you are watching news reports and reading posts on the latest tech layoffs, you might feel like the marketplace is falling apart. Every day my LinkedIn feed shows the latest in announced layoffs on the right side of my screen. Every day it updates constantly.
We are correct in that tech companies are experiencing the most significant layoffs in what feels like forever. We may be incorrect, however, about the reasons behind it all.
One could speculate that some of the layoffs are happening because the economy is slowing down…or speeding up…or having a soft landing…or, maybe it is a hard landing? No one knows precisely, and the unknowns have a lot of companies concerned as they see prices rise but units sold decline (we do know for sure that inflation is hurting just about everybody.)
Some of the layoffs are a rebalancing from companies that zealously over-hired during the pandemic lockdowns. Now, with government support ending and the cost of money quickly increasing, those who overhired are now trying to balance out.
There is also the factor of the ”follow the leader” mentality among many companies’ executive teams. Once a big player or two (e.g., think Meta, Google, Microsoft, etc.) announced significant reductions in force, many other executives figure the big names are signaling the smart play is to cut their own workforce, as well.
In the complete picture, the laid-off employees are bearing the impact of rebalancing and assorted market signals. The individuals and their families are, in a sense, subsidizing the decisions made at the companies they worked at for a month, a year, a decade, or a lifetime.
We rightly applaud executives who take material steps to own their decisions, whether it is cutting their own comp or providing a supportive path for the laid-off team members. We rightly scourge those who terminate employees with impersonal and callous disregard.
All that said, the tech industry does not dominate the employment market. It has been riding a bubble when it comes to attracting talent with specific skills, and now that bubble is deflating. Employees and candidates are realizing the tech industry is not terribly different from every other industry that talks a good game about their human side but does not practice what they preach. Companies that need tech talent but are in different industries are looking much more attractive and competitive than they were two or three years ago.
Depending on the source, the tech industry accounts for around 7% of the total US workforce, which is similar to a lot of other industries yet smaller than many that are hiring now. Each job won’t be a one-for-one replacement, BUT the marketplace is active and there are quality opportunities to hire and be hired.
We here at SBR2TH improve the quality of hire and speed up the time to fill specialized ML, Data Engineering, Data Science, and Developer talent, stretching tech recruiting budgets further. Click the book a meeting link below to find out more.
