Where have all the laid-off tech workers gone? • Hacker News Board

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

#31

Post by MontyCarloHall » Fri, Mar 31, 2023, 10:39 AM UTC

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 from that.

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

#32

Post by rcarmo » Fri, Mar 31, 2023, 10:40 AM UTC

DrBazza wrote: post #19

freeone3000 wrote: post #5

Answer: "Working somewhere else mostly, but some started their own company."

And probably leading to the next wave of innovation and/or unicorns. https://www.wired.com/story/tech-layoffs-are-feeding-a-new-s...

I seriously doubt that. Might be true for younger people who were laid off by the "LIFO rule" (i.e., cheaper severance), but anyone with a 10y+ career would at least think twice before joining a startup... Especially in Europe, but these kinds of stories are never about Europe.

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

#33

Post by Eumenes » Fri, Mar 31, 2023, 10:40 AM UTC

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.

The biggest reason I've seen FAANG candidates (mostly Google, FB, and Amazon) get rejected is too much experience with proprietary technology, esp. if they've been there a long time, like 5+ years. I've even spoke to some FAANG candidates who think their internal proprietary tech is widely known or commercial products.

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

#34

Post by MontyCarloHall » Fri, Mar 31, 2023, 10:40 AM UTC

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?

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

#35

Post by imwithstoopid » Fri, Mar 31, 2023, 10:41 AM UTC

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

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

#36

Post by c03 » Fri, Mar 31, 2023, 10:41 AM UTC

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…

On point. It would be nice with insight into the roles of the lay-offs.

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

#37

Post by em500 » Fri, Mar 31, 2023, 10:43 AM UTC

esskay wrote: post #23

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.

Are you expecting a salary similar to the one you were getting at a FAANG though? Because that seems to be the main issue - FAANG people thinking they're worth way more than they actually are.

“Moving down” can be more difficult than it looks. Anecdotally, employers can be reluctant to hire “overqualified” people (indicated by a high previous salary), because they believe these people will jump ship at the earliest higher paying opportunity elsewhere.

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

#38

Post by rcarmo » Fri, Mar 31, 2023, 10:44 AM UTC

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…

There is a wide mix of roles across most "tech" layoffs I'm aware of. HN only really surfaces the big figures and engineering/dev cuts, but there are a lot of business support folk being laid off _outside_ the tech industry as well, so I'd expect an even mix given a large enough sample.

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

#39

Post by madeofpalk » Fri, Mar 31, 2023, 10:44 AM UTC

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…

I disagree with both sentiments that PMs etc are non-technical roles, and that they're not useful.

I would say they're just as useful as developers - plenty of developers are bad at their job or are employed extraneously to begin with.

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

#40

Post by ThunderSizzle » Fri, Mar 31, 2023, 10:44 AM UTC

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…

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