18,000. 12,000. 10,000. 11,000. 6,000.
These are the numbers of employees that big tech companies like Amazon, Google, Microsoft, Meta, and Twitter have fired in the last six months.
If you have lived long enough to experience the 2008 recession, I have news for you, it is happening again. The signs are quite evident and most of us can tell what is going on. One of the biggest signs is the layoffs.
Remember the time when “golden shake hands” were common? Most people were forced to retire early with some extra pension in hand, which led to a slight outrage in the industry. People generally stopped looking at the banking sector as the savior, and eventually, finance and banking degrees became worthless.
It was the start of a tech boom because it was the same time that Google, Facebook, Apple, and Microsoft were declared the next big thing. Soon after, everyone jumped on the tech bandwagon. The worth of a CS degree skyrocketed, and we experienced the biggest tech boom.
Internet became common, and more people started their online businesses, all thanks to fast-speed internet and affordable internet connection. Companies like Cox that were offering good service and 24/7 Cox Customer Service especially helped in this growing tech boom.
Now, after 2020, it seems that the tech bubble has burst and things are looking bleak. Most companies have sacked a major chunk of their workforce and it is expected that the year 2024 will only be worse.
The Firing Spree in Tech and What to Know
Most people think that these layoffs are different from the 2008 firing, so we explored what this can mean for tech and how it is different.
Silent Firing
This time, it’s all about silent firing. This means companies do not have lengthy pension packages, no severance packages and they will only offer you a cushion of a few weeks. While big businesses like Google and Amazon have offered their employees at least 3 months of lazy finance cushion, smaller tech companies are offering almost nothing.
Another very different way of firing employees is now becoming common. In this firing technique, HR generally reassigns the employee to a different department unrelated to their skillset, offers worse working conditions, and eventually a huge pay cut. This indirect stress leads to burnout, and in most cases, the employee resigns within a few weeks.
In some cases, small tech companies even forcefully resign because they do not want to pay severance pay or face legal consequences. This is now becoming more common than ever.
No Strings Attached
The no-strings-attached policy is now becoming more common than ever. Since big tech companies have better packages and perks that every employee needs, they are able to attract more people. However, once you get to the contract signing, you realize that the job contract will keep you limited to a project contract only.
This means you will be part of the project but not part of the company. In case the project fails, you will be dismissed instantly. While the take-home paycheck is good, the job is not secure, and eventually, the employee feels insecure even when they have jobs.
The firing system is even worse than before, but most employees have a hunch before mass layoffs occur. In fact, most employees say that binge hiring and mass firings are quite common within tech.
Is There A Recession Proofing Technique?
Now that we are on this topic, we can all agree that tech is one of the most lucrative industries, but it is fueled by innovation. If you fail to become the trendsetter, you will be shoved into the next tech innovation stream. Since the pace of innovation in tech is very high, it is very important to keep up with the trends.
For instance, right now, AI is all the hype. This means that most of the tech companies will launch at least one AI project within the next few months. If you master AI right now, you will be able to beat this recession issue.
However, this will only last until the next big innovation knocks at the door. Since this has happened before when blockchain was all the hype, it will happen again, and the only way to recession-proof yourself is to keep up with the trends.
What’s The Silver Lining?
The silver lining in this tech layoff trend is that most of the people who were fired from big companies might never join the business as employees again. Instead, they are expected to launch their own startups. Although these businesses are smaller, they are able to gather enough eyeballs and eventually create many business opportunities for other people as well.
These startups might not pay as much as any big company, but they have the potential to become the next OpenAI. Moreover, they have nothing to lose, which is why they take big risks and make big business decisions, which improves learning opportunities. They offer ideal learning opportunities for fresh grads and even people who feel suffocated at big corporations.
Wrap Up
To sum it all up, tech layoffs are a fact and the sooner you admit the better. However, giving up is not an option because these layoffs will eventually create more and better opportunities within the tech industry.
