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Where have all the laid-off tech workers gone?

economist.com

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Re: Where have all the laid-off tech workers gone?

#41

Post by elzbardico »

One thing that is very important to realize after being laid-off from a very big company during a recession is that you need to adjust your salary expectations for the new reality. And the other thing is that you should have been prepared for this a long, long time ago. Economic cycles are a thing, it is in all history books, there's no excuse for not being aware of them.

I have always been very very conservative with my expenses, I don't expect the situation where I make hundreds of thousands of dollars an year as a developer something that will go on forever. They are out there to get you, you are not a business guy with connections, probably you came from a working class family, if they can, they will take the rug out of your feet. So, don't get too excited thinking that making 300k an year (or even 400, 500, whatever) by itself means you're rich now. Income by itself is not wealth if you don't save it. You really don't need a Peloton bike and other conspicuous consumption signs.

Re: Where have all the laid-off tech workers gone?

#42

Post by rcarmo »

imwithstoopid wrote: post #35
nubela wrote: post #18

We actually tracked every laid off individual from Google to understand the story behind the layoffs. Here's the summary: - 747 out of the 2,762 laid-off Googlers have since updated their profiles to indicate a change of employment status in the last 4 months since November 2022. - Only 56.7% of these people joined a tech company. - 1/3 of these ex-Googlers joined startups. See the full blog post here: https://nubela…

I'm calling BS on the "startups" number...I think this is a lot of people hacking around on side projects on their own dime No mention also of how many will permanently leave tech...this may come down to who has the most savings to fall back on...if you just have to get paid to pay off that BMW lease, you're going to find work wherever you have to

And if you're leaving Google and willing to relocate, you probably have "enough" savings.

Re: Where have all the laid-off tech workers gone?

#43

Post by catmanjan »

nubela wrote: post #18

We actually tracked every laid off individual from Google to understand the story behind the layoffs. Here's the summary: - 747 out of the 2,762 laid-off Googlers have since updated their profiles to indicate a change of employment status in the last 4 months since November 2022. - Only 56.7% of these people joined a tech company. - 1/3 of these ex-Googlers joined startups. See the full blog post here: https://nubela…

What is a tech company? Is ford a tech company? Is Goldman Sacha a tech company?

Re: Where have all the laid-off tech workers gone?

#44

Post by rmchugh »

MontyCarloHall wrote: post #31
nubela wrote: post #18

We actually tracked every laid off individual from Google to understand the story behind the layoffs. Here's the summary: - 747 out of the 2,762 laid-off Googlers have since updated their profiles to indicate a change of employment status in the last 4 months since November 2022. - Only 56.7% of these people joined a tech company. - 1/3 of these ex-Googlers joined startups. See the full blog post here: https://nubela…

>Only 56.7% of these people joined a tech company Does this suggest that a large fraction of laid off employees were in non-tech roles (e.g. pro{ject,duct} managers, scrum masters, sales, etc.)? If so, perhaps the layoffs are a good thing—in my experience, the worst tech companies to work for are those dominated by non-technical employees. Perhaps layoffs are being used as a blunt instrument to shift the balance away…

Also possible that they joined a "non-tech" company that needs technical roles.

Re: Where have all the laid-off tech workers gone?

#45

Post by ThunderSizzle »

lucideer wrote: post #27
nubela wrote: post #18

We actually tracked every laid off individual from Google to understand the story behind the layoffs. Here's the summary: - 747 out of the 2,762 laid-off Googlers have since updated their profiles to indicate a change of employment status in the last 4 months since November 2022. - Only 56.7% of these people joined a tech company. - 1/3 of these ex-Googlers joined startups. See the full blog post here: https://nubela…

Do you have any data on accuracy/completeness of LinkedIn profiles to accompany this? I get that LinkedIn is the most used platform, but as someone who doesn't use / update it (I have a largely dormant profile), I got the impression my demographic, while a minority, is still a relatively large minority. Presumably the "total number of identified LinkedIn profiles" & the "total reported layoffs" figures don't match up…

> I got the impression my demographic, while a minority, is still a relatively large minority.

Based on my anecdote experience, your not in the minority.

Re: Where have all the laid-off tech workers gone?

#46

Post by imwithstoopid »

MontyCarloHall wrote: post #31
nubela wrote: post #18

We actually tracked every laid off individual from Google to understand the story behind the layoffs. Here's the summary: - 747 out of the 2,762 laid-off Googlers have since updated their profiles to indicate a change of employment status in the last 4 months since November 2022. - Only 56.7% of these people joined a tech company. - 1/3 of these ex-Googlers joined startups. See the full blog post here: https://nubela…

>Only 56.7% of these people joined a tech company Does this suggest that a large fraction of laid off employees were in non-tech roles (e.g. pro{ject,duct} managers, scrum masters, sales, etc.)? If so, perhaps the layoffs are a good thing—in my experience, the worst tech companies to work for are those dominated by non-technical employees. Perhaps layoffs are being used as a blunt instrument to shift the balance away…

[flagged]

Re: Where have all the laid-off tech workers gone?

#47

Post by rcarmo »

thaufeki wrote: post #20
Beaver117 wrote: post #13

I can't find another job even with a FAANG background. The market is brutal. Maybe my only choice is to start a startup.

Could also be why you can't find a job. You may be too expensive, and they're looking for engineers in the sweet spot of cheap/can keep the machine running.

There is always an element of "let's see how low we can get" in mainstream IT, since people outside tech view tech as a cost center and not a profit center, which devalues candidates.

Re: Where have all the laid-off tech workers gone?

#48

Post by m00dy »

MontyCarloHall wrote: post #34
kkoste wrote: post #21

Probably back home to their original country since they only have 60 days to find a new job. I imagine that is extremely hard when you are in competition with a lot of your former colleagues.

What suggests that the majority of laid off employees were H1Bs?

yes, he is. But, I think most of the laid-offs are non-technical positions. I have also no data to support my statement.

Re: Where have all the laid-off tech workers gone?

#50

Post by MontyCarloHall »

ThunderSizzle wrote: post #40
MontyCarloHall wrote: post #31

Earlier quoted context omitted.

>Only 56.7% of these people joined a tech company Does this suggest that a large fraction of laid off employees were in non-tech roles (e.g. pro{ject,duct} managers, scrum masters, sales, etc.)? If so, perhaps the layoffs are a good thing—in my experience, the worst tech companies to work for are those dominated by non-technical employees. Perhaps layoffs are being used as a blunt instrument to shift the balance away…

I find that an odd question. My initial take was that they went to non-tech companies that have substantial internal IT presence.

From the original post, the next biggest category after “tech” is “Business & Professional Services“ at 24.2% of total (or 171 companies). This category includes - quoting the top few industries - financial services, business consulting, advertising services and recruitment.

With the exception of some financial services, these do not sound like industries whose companies have large internal IT presence.

The next largest categories are manufacturing/engineering, health, government, and energy. I agree that all of these fit your bill (government, perhaps less so).

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