Ask HN: How are the current layoffs affecting non-US developers?

#1

Post by fbrncci » Wed, Feb 22, 2023, 12:05 AM UTC

I was looking at the data used for layoff tracker [1] and it seems that the current wave of layoffs are mostly focused on US companies (~70%) and employees (~60%). And it got me wondering, how is the current career climate for developers who aren't in the US? I still get my daily recruiter spam in my inbox for companies hiring in west-Europe, it hasn't stopped.

[1] https://airtable.com/shrclnXK0pfoGjtih/tblQ0U46nsYopm2CR?backgroundColor=gray&viewControls=on

Re: Ask HN: How are the current layoffs affecting non-US developers?

#2

Post by gfarah » Wed, Feb 22, 2023, 12:23 AM UTC

Here in Latin America, the hiring of local developers by companies in the United States has decreased. Since July of last year, it has been much easier to hire and retain local talent.

Re: Ask HN: How are the current layoffs affecting non-US developers?

#3

Post by AYBABTME » Wed, Feb 22, 2023, 12:26 AM UTC

The amount of spam I get from recruiters in the US hasn't decreased either, and yet I'm at ground-zero of the layoffs.

Re: Ask HN: How are the current layoffs affecting non-US developers?

#4

Post by rwaksmunski » Wed, Feb 22, 2023, 12:28 AM UTC

Eastern Europe here, local full time offers are down, US remote freelance offers are up. Not sure what to make of it yet.

Re: Ask HN: How are the current layoffs affecting non-US developers?

#5

Post by fnbr » Wed, Feb 22, 2023, 12:29 AM UTC

They shut my office down in Canada. Lots of jobs. Most are remote for US companies though. Very few recruiters spamming me, but companies are very receptive to inbound inquiries from me.

I’m a senior eng in AI research though, which is obviously having a big moment right now.

Re: Ask HN: How are the current layoffs affecting non-US developers?

#6

Post by Aeolun » Wed, Feb 22, 2023, 12:33 AM UTC

Why would they shut down offices in western Europe? That must be the absolute cheapest (western) region to hire for.

In Japan it doesn’t seem to have affected much, though our parent US company went through a significant round of layoffs.

Re: Ask HN: How are the current layoffs affecting non-US developers?

#7

Post by KptMarchewa » Wed, Feb 22, 2023, 12:35 AM UTC

Poland. Amount of recruiters on LinkedIn decreases but they still exists. Heard of 0 layoffs whatsoever though.

Re: Ask HN: How are the current layoffs affecting non-US developers?

#8

Post by metadat » Wed, Feb 22, 2023, 12:35 AM UTC

AYBABTME wrote: post #3

The amount of spam I get from recruiters in the US hasn't decreased either, and yet I'm at ground-zero of the layoffs.

Just because a job gets posted doesn't mean it is actually available to be filled. The barrier to posting jobs to LinkedIn or other hiring platforms is extremely low.

Don't let yourself be fooled into a false sense of confidence, you'd really need to test out the process to see if it can produce a real job offer! Doubly so in the current climate..

Re: Ask HN: How are the current layoffs affecting non-US developers?

#9

Post by outside1234 » Wed, Feb 22, 2023, 12:44 AM UTC

Aeolun wrote: post #6

Why would they shut down offices in western Europe? That must be the absolute cheapest (western) region to hire for. In Japan it doesn’t seem to have affected much, though our parent US company went through a significant round of layoffs.

Europe is actually "net expensive" because there are high payroll taxes in some countries, and then, of course, in some countries it is virtually impossible to fire.

Re: Ask HN: How are the current layoffs affecting non-US developers?

#10

Post by majikaja » Wed, Feb 22, 2023, 12:49 AM UTC

Aeolun wrote: post #6

Why would they shut down offices in western Europe? That must be the absolute cheapest (western) region to hire for. In Japan it doesn’t seem to have affected much, though our parent US company went through a significant round of layoffs.

Feels like Tokyo is the new Mumbai...

Not a developer but I exited the job market completely. Not worth it.