Tech Industry Layoffs
Nov. 9th, 2022 09:46 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
canyonwalkerRecently a few high profile tech companies have announced layoffs. Last week it was Twitter, with new boss Elon Musk quickly moving to fire 3,700 people, half the company. He moved so fast the company the next day tried to hire back some of the people it dismissed because they were critical to projects Musk still wanted to ship. Today Meta, the parent company of Facebook, announced layoffs of 11,000 staff, 13% of its workforce.
These layoffs concern me because they may indicate an emerging trend. And yes, it's more than just two companies. Twitter and Facebook are household names; but several other Bay Area tech companies (e.g., Lyft, Opendoor, and Stripe) announced layoffs last week, too. My own employer had a small round of layoffs last month.
People have been predicting a recession for most of 2022 already. In July the simplest technical definition of a recession was met. I pointed out at the time that it takes more than 2 quarters of minor economic contraction to really make a recession. In particular hiring and job growth were still going strong. If that's turning downward now, though we could be in for a real recession soon. And if we're headed into a real recession, cuts like that <10% layoff my employer had may just be the start.
These layoffs concern me because they may indicate an emerging trend. And yes, it's more than just two companies. Twitter and Facebook are household names; but several other Bay Area tech companies (e.g., Lyft, Opendoor, and Stripe) announced layoffs last week, too. My own employer had a small round of layoffs last month.
People have been predicting a recession for most of 2022 already. In July the simplest technical definition of a recession was met. I pointed out at the time that it takes more than 2 quarters of minor economic contraction to really make a recession. In particular hiring and job growth were still going strong. If that's turning downward now, though we could be in for a real recession soon. And if we're headed into a real recession, cuts like that <10% layoff my employer had may just be the start.
