Tech Layoffs for 2016 Projected to Be Deep

Earlier rounds of job losses were often replaced with offshoring and classic wage arbitrage, but this time feels different. A lot of the companies are cutting jobs, without the expectation to replace them (at all).

I think ageism will play a part in the selection process, but not always because of the age directly, rather the older staff may have larger pay, pension and benefits costs.

Re: Tech Layoffs for 2016 Projected to Be Deep

#5

Post by princetontiger » Sat, Apr 30, 2016, 8:14 PM UTC

I think it's important to always have "ideas" handy just in case things go awry at work.

We're likely in a shallow recession right now.

260,000 layoffs in the the industry can send ripple effects to other parts of the economy. That's a ton of high paying jobs gone. Not enough to create any major recession, but enough to be felt around the communities.

Re: Tech Layoffs for 2016 Projected to Be Deep

#6

Post by [deleted] » Sat, Apr 30, 2016, 8:22 PM UTC

[deleted]

Re: Tech Layoffs for 2016 Projected to Be Deep

#7

Post by blue_dinner » Sat, Apr 30, 2016, 8:23 PM UTC

This is why I started my own company. All of my developer friends that told me I was stupid 5 years ago are now on their 5th or more job (and are scared about the next round of layoffs).

While I've had continued stability. I would rather not get pushed out of my own industry for being too old or demanding too much pay. I think I would be pretty depressed if a snot-nosed kid out of college was managing me.

As a side effect, my company can now hire all of the new cheap labor that will be poured into the marketplace after the next bust.

Re: Tech Layoffs for 2016 Projected to Be Deep

#8

Post by takno » Sat, Apr 30, 2016, 8:25 PM UTC

This article paints a very bleak figure. In particular it ignores that in any given year around 2.5% of the workforce will retire, and retiring a year early isn't a massive hardship if you are getting severance, so 5% cuts can be easily accommodated (although obviously that makes things more challenging for me entrants to the industry). The other thing is that these numbers appear to be international, and are therefore a tiny drop in the ocean of the international IT workforce.

Re: Tech Layoffs for 2016 Projected to Be Deep

#9

Post by askyourmother » Sat, Apr 30, 2016, 8:27 PM UTC

blue_dinner wrote: post #7

This is why I started my own company. All of my developer friends that told me I was stupid 5 years ago are now on their 5th or more job (and are scared about the next round of layoffs). While I've had continued stability. I would rather not get pushed out of my own industry for being too old or demanding too much pay. I think I would be pretty depressed if a snot-nosed kid out of college was managing me. As a side e…

A colleague at a previous firm took his severance pay, and opened a coffee shop, right in the tech area. He does very well now, even worried about their jobs, everyone still seems to buy expensive coffee!

Re: Tech Layoffs for 2016 Projected to Be Deep

#10

Post by nfriedly » Sat, Apr 30, 2016, 8:34 PM UTC

I just narrowly avoided getting booted out of IBM Watson just because a new manager 6 layers above me wants everyone to move and I can't. This was announced as co-locating, not a layoff, but it had about the same effect for many of my co-workers. I only got a temporary exception because my managers and teammates fought so hard to keep me, and I'm still looking at this same situation in a few months.

I'm personally not very worried - I got one immediate no-interview offer from a former boss and about 6 other folks who were interested in hiring me. And if I suddenly can't find any work in tech, I can always go back to laying tile. But this is going to suck for a lot of people.

Amusingly, I think I had a better feeling of job security working at startups than I do at IBM now.