Tech Layoffs

[franky1]

same reason why meta decided to go all in with metaverse but failed miserably anyway,

meta failed miserably with the metaverse because they just threw together a gimmick. they didnt go all-in

they could have created a proper universe where people could lease VR space to design a VR store that promotes goods which then when bought in VR, a real world product is delivered to peoples real world home.
where its like a fully interactive shopping mall and entertainment center where people can VR earn credit via operating as customer service support or sales people and create a circular economy inside metaverse..

instead it just turned into a cartoon character social chat space

..
many web3 supposed tech has yet to be discovered/utilised so getting rid of some web2 deadwood may make way for more web3 development yet to be seen

[1714818339]

1714818339

[mirakal]

It may partly be due to AI, but no one can really replace human workers when it comes to logic and problem solving. Sure, AIs can do a lot of specialized tasks more efficiently and timely, but hurdles along the way are only solved by humans with enough experience in the field. AI is still in its infancy, and I don't think that's the reason for the job cuts in the tech industry. They may have just overestimated their needs at a given time in order to stay profitable, and found out that they can make do without X percent of the workforce and still produce the same results for more profits.

AI continues to improve and make good developments but no matter how advanced it is, it’s undeniable that human workers presence are still very vital when it comes to any kind of workforce. Although it could be partly true as you’ve said, but I guess it’s more on the remained impact from the previous pandemic wherein a lot of big companies have eventually closed, and it also adds to it the current negative economic condition of the country in general.

However, there are also some tech companies that just want to limit their employees for lesser manpower and reduced salary, so that they can use that funds instead to open more branches in the different parts or areas in the world.

[tyz]

However, there are also some tech companies that just want to limit their employees for lesser manpower and reduced salary, so that they can use that funds instead to open more branches in the different parts or areas in the world.

The argument makes no sense to me. Normally, job cuts go hand in hand with the closing of smaller locations. At least that has mostly been the case in the past. Opening smaller locations abroad or in new markets is more cost-intensive than opening/operating a few large locations.


Job losses in the tech sector continue. Snap announced today that it is laying off 500 employees, 10% of its total workforce.
https://www.cnbc.com/2024/02/05/snap-to-lay-off-10percent-of-global-workforce-around-500-employees.html

[franky1]

The argument makes no sense to me. Normally, job cuts go hand in hand with the closing of smaller locations. At least that has mostly been the case in the past. Opening smaller locations abroad or in new markets is more cost-intensive than opening/operating a few large locations.

lets use rockstar(GTA) as an example
when using american talent to design the new engines that will run GTA6, after the engines are complete they then put that team to other games or lay them off, replacing them with another team that do storyboards and missions. then they hire in temps/offshore freelancers as testers, bug fixers and support staff

it is not cost intensive to set up remote locations abroad. they just contract existing remote agency staff at rates far cheaper then paying a US developers

paying high talent dev salary to do support/testing is a waste of time and money for all businesses

[Kriptogram14]

This is a sign that the tech industry isn't what it used to be and that it's going to be the trend now that there's going to be less people doing jobs there because of automation and it's a sign for many young people to do trade school and learn something that's skill based like automotive maintenance, plumbing and maybe even hairdressing, with those trade skills, you won't have to worry too much about doing side hustles that will definitely see an increase in competition with these tech lay offs.

Yes, because in every job there are definitely layoffs, both in technology and industry, nowadays millennials are more interested in jobs that are more profitable with less risk, because technology is now more sophisticated than in the days of our youth, now millennials are more interested in working from home through the sophistication of gadgets, such as being a YouTuber, gamer, etc., because that way they don't feel pressured and no one can lay them off, because they work or make money from their own creative output without depending on the big boss. or the owner of the company so there is such a thing as layoffs.

[southerngentuk]

While economic downturns undoubtedly trigger workforce reductions, attributing all reshuffles and manpower reductions solely to recessions presents a limited perspective. The contemporary business landscape demands agility, forcing organizations to adapt to diverse factors beyond economic fluctuations.

Company restructurings, mergers and acquisitions, evolving consumer preferences, and industry disruptions all necessitate reevaluating staffing needs. For instance, a shift towards online retail might necessitate streamlining brick-and-mortar operations, impacting personnel in those areas. Recognizing these various drivers paints a more nuanced picture of workforce dynamics.

The potential impact of artificial intelligence on jobs is a topic of intense discussion. While automation will undeniably displace some roles, it's crucial to remember that new opportunities will also emerge. The key lies in adaptation and reskilling. Equipping individuals with the skills necessary to thrive in an AI-driven future is essential, ensuring they remain relevant and competitive.

[FanEagle]

AI definitely plays a role into this there is no doubt about that but also you have to remember someone has to use that AI, it is not going to be the boss, there will be employees who will figure out a way to use the AI to make the product, and fix stuff.

I think it is mainly because the money isn't coming in as much as it used to. What we need to look at is the fact that during pandemic and even before, the rates were low, so people didn't want to put their money into savings, certainly not super rich people, so they invested into tech companies, startups and so forth, now that the interest is high, they don't take that risk, which left many companies without fund, which caused a lot of them to fire their employees who are getting paid a lot, the developers.

[magneto]

Not a day goes by without a tech company announcing major job cuts. Today Paypal and Block (both payment service providers) have announced a total of 3500 job cuts, and recently Salesforce, Microsoft, SAP, Google, Ebay etc. have also done so. According to https://layoffs.fyi, 25,000 documented tech jobs have already been cut this year.

What do you think? Is it just a shrinkage and normalization after the strong build-up of the workforce during Corona or a long-term trend that will accelerate through the use of AI?

To be honest, it's pretty expected from the massive expansion that we saw during COVID. People were hired left and right, Computer Science graduates were getting paid ridiculous sign-on bonuses, and employees were pushing for WFH hard.

The unwinding of the low interest rate environment is what has caused these layoffs for the past 2 years. This year is just a continuation.

I don't anticipate it to be sustained much further though, given that rates are starting to come off again and central banks around the world will probably be more dovish following lower inflation reports. It sucks to be involved in one, that's for sure.

[Fortify]

Not a day goes by without a tech company announcing major job cuts. Today Paypal and Block (both payment service providers) have announced a total of 3500 job cuts, and recently Salesforce, Microsoft, SAP, Google, Ebay etc. have also done so. According to https://layoffs.fyi, 25,000 documented tech jobs have already been cut this year.

What do you think? Is it just a shrinkage and normalization after the strong build-up of the workforce during Corona or a long-term trend that will accelerate through the use of AI?

Tech companies are not immune to having to adapt and survive. In fact they are often at the forefront of taking risks and trying new things, which may not pay off and need to be scrapped later down the line. What you will find however is that most of those people who were laid off will have a premium company listed on their CV, enabling them to have an advantage when trying to secure new employment elsewhere. I'd even say we're past the Covid effect, these are just regular expansion and tightening that takes place, these companies just have the largest workforces but it will be happening all throughout the economy. It's the sign of weak leadership if companies do not change over time and redundancies are often part of such change.

[OgNasty]

I think the tech layoffs are a concern for the economy because most of these individuals are young and rent expensive apartments, lease expensive cars, buy ridiculously priced clothes and food...  Then suddenly they get laid off and it's unemployment.  High end retailers, apartment buildings, foreign cars...  I would think sales of all those things would take a pretty big hit as the cash flow stops pouring in.  It remains to be seen how widespread this crisis will get, but if we're in for a repeat of 2008 it would be wise for everyone to start tightening their belt as if they were the ones who just got laid off.

[kryptqnick]

Not a day goes by without a tech company announcing major job cuts. Today Paypal and Block (both payment service providers) have announced a total of 3500 job cuts, and recently Salesforce, Microsoft, SAP, Google, Ebay etc. have also done so. According to https://layoffs.fyi, 25,000 documented tech jobs have already been cut this year.

What do you think? Is it just a shrinkage and normalization after the strong build-up of the workforce during Corona or a long-term trend that will accelerate through the use of AI?

Job cuts like that are very unfortunate, but maybe it just means that we'll see more decentralization (tech giants getting smaller, and smaller companies getting bigger), I don't know. According to the World Economic Forum report on the future of jobs, IT jobs are actually expected to grow, and some positions are among the fastest-growing across the job market (big data analytics, encryption, cybersecurity, AI and machine learning specialists, information security analysts). Perhaps lay-offs are in tech companies, but they're firing people who are doing mundane jobs?

[demonica]

Job cuts like that are very unfortunate, but maybe it just means that we'll see more decentralization (tech giants getting smaller, and smaller companies getting bigger), I don't know. According to the World Economic Forum report on the future of jobs, IT jobs are actually expected to grow, and some positions are among the fastest-growing across the job market (big data analytics, encryption, cybersecurity, AI and machine learning specialists, information security analysts). Perhaps lay-offs are in tech companies, but they're firing people who are doing mundane jobs?

Tech companies are striving so I doubt that their reason for layoffs is because of its declining overall performance. Also, IT related jobs are getting more in demand, especially that we are relying more on technologies with our day-to-day stuff. So I agree that perhaps they are cutting off jobs with minimal tasks or importance wherein in can be done with the help of technology. In this case, it'll be more convenient for these tech companies since it means less employees to pay and they can save money. And with technology, those tasks can be done faster and more efficiently.

Based on what I've searched, AI is really one of the factors of it. And most likely, admin and sale related jobs are affected by it. Since with AI, they can minimize their expenses and at the same time improve the performance in admin related tasks.

Grammarly cuts 23% jobsGrammarly, the popular tool for spell-checking and grammar correction, recently laid off about 230 employees, which accounts for roughly 23% of its workforce. The CEO, Rahul Roy-Chowdhury, clarified that the layoffs were due to the increasing importance of AI and the company's focus on driving AI-enabled workplaces.
DocuSign lays off 440 employeesE-signature company DocuSign announced a restructuring plan on Tuesday. 6% of its workforce will be laid off, mostly affecting Sales & Marketing. DocuSign has 7,336 employees, so around 440 jobs will be affected. The plan aims to improve financial and operational efficiency.

Source:

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https://www.google.com/amp/s/timesofindia.indiatimes.com/gadgets-news/tech-layoffs-this-week-job-cuts-continue-at-amazon-snap-cuts-over-500-jobs-and-other-layoffs-in-tech-industry/amp_articleshow/107599431.cms

[tyz]

Tech layoffs continue.

Mozilla (Firefox) laid off 60 people this week. Cisco Systems 4200 people and Instacart round about 250 people. And these are just the better-known companies. This does not include many small start-ups that no longer receive follow-up financing and go out of business completely.

[franky1]

Tech layoffs continue.

Mozilla (Firefox) laid off 60 people this week. Cisco Systems 4200 people and Instacart round about 250 people. And these are just the better-known companies. This does not include many small start-ups that no longer receive follow-up financing and go out of business completely.

now i think you are scraping google search for stats... for the sake of scraping google for stats
.. so here is one

ask google what the average turn-over/churn of employees is..
it will tell you 30%+

good turn-over/churn is under 10%

people no longer stay in careers for 10 years they change jobs every 1-2 years by choice. (mainly to improve income) but especially in the under 30yo's not ready to settle into a "career"
because employers yearly pay reviews dont always offer payrises by standard, so need to swap jobs to get better pay and not get stuck in a rut
employee/employer loyalty is low

in tech this can be over 50%
its because new projects require new skills.. so they recruit per project.
EG one season of the year they are concentrating on back-end.
next season front-end/ui.. next season debug and product testing
so can go through 3 teams of skills in one year

we are no longer in the era of microsoft that keeps people around for decades regurgitating the same 'word' software with a new fancy UI every couple of years

so when there are stats that show under 10% turn-over... its not news, or worthy stats.. thats just business norm

Tech layoffs continue.

Mozilla (Firefox) laid off 60 people this week. Cisco Systems 4200 people and Instacart round about 250 people.

mozilla 60 of 700 = 8.5%
cisco 4200 of 85000 = 4.94%
instacart 250 of 10,000 =2.5%

so yea, when good turnover/churn is 10%.. it appears your looking for stats just for looking for stats. without understanding employment in any economy is not where everyone stays in the same job for 45 years, nor 10 years

[tyz]

now i think you are scraping google search for stats... for the sake of scraping google for stats
.. so here is one

Well, not really! I don't google these things, they are part of my job, or better lets say, I deal with such news on a daily basis. There are a certain number of layoffs at any given time, that's quite normal, but it becomes noticeable when the news of layoffs - especially in tech - pile up and that's one of the reasons why I opened this thread here. By the way, this week alone there have been many more layoffs of well-known tech companies such as Expedia, Bumble (didn't know the dating market is also being hit so hard), Sony, Electronic Arts and many more.

[franky1]

point was.. stats are meaningless without context..

Tech industry is not a industry where someone stays in one workplace creating software for the same company for 45 years
most techbro's know they have to go where the next big thing is.
one year they are at netscape, then at AOL then hotmail, then yahoo then google, then at facebook then at twitter then at [insert new trend of social media platform]

lets take the gaming section of tech
once rockstar(GTA) has devs developing the back end engine, they then work on front end graphics engines, they then employ story writers to design missions and then bug testers. requiring different skill sets meaning different teams
the dev team of GTA1 for the gameboy is different to the dev team for GTA6


once a product is made the company dont need a big team to keep developing the product, they only need a small team for bugs/patches and adding new missions, features occasionally.
its dead money to keep people on the payroll twiddling their thumbs for months/years, whilst the other team do other things

heck look at the bitcoin core github. different people are lead maintainers of different sections and even they have seen people move out and be replaced. different people specialise in different things, some have full recall knowledge of the cryptography code, some are back end wallet maintainers some are UI, some are mempool maintainers, etc

heck when there is a new OS on a phone EG everyone shifted from blackberry to iphone decades ago, then google made a phone OS(android) so tech had to adapt and people upskilled and changed roles to follow the money

tech is an ever evolving industry. its not a monopoly of one product that remains a blue chip for 45 years
yep even microsoft windows 11 is not the same vista, nor that the same as windows 98 nor that the same as windows 3.1
those now employed at microsoft have a completely different skill set compared to those of windows 3.1 (30 years ago) and lots of different skill sets inbetween

its not like a baker who makes bread everyday where bread has a recipe that lasts for centuries thus secures his skillset for his entire life

..
having a degree in computer science/coding does not = job security with one company. it mean certified display of knowledge to be higher than that of some script kiddy when if comes to interviews. thus higher change of getting re-employed by another company when the project ends with a previous company

[topbitcoin]

Currently, most people only depend on one source of income for their livelihood, and depend on the company where they work. So advances in technology and AI will be of particular concern, because their position could be replaced by robots. However, it is not easy for an individual to let go of his dependence on the company where he works. Being able to invest and have an independent business is a solution to facing this problem, but again this is not something that is easy enough to realize because the economic situation is not good. -Okay, where income is not balanced with expenses, it makes it quite difficult for a person to be able to start investing because let alone starting an investment, to be able to meet his daily needs, sometimes it is still lacking and he even has to take out a loan. And the same goes for when you want to start a business, where currently people's purchasing power is declining, so it will be a challenge in itself when someone wants to start their business.

[franky1]

Currently, most people only depend on one source of income for their livelihood, and depend on the company where they work. So advances in technology and AI will be of particular concern, because their position could be replaced by robots.

people in tech are normally on the young side,no experience of having a career but have been told at university their degree=lifetime career
what they are not told is in certain industries there is no such thing as a lifetime career in the same company

they have to assume there is going to be changes to a business on short notice and be ready for it

this includes not spending all their funds frivolously but to stash some cash to cover an immediate change/incidence to avoid panic (savings for 1-6 months essentials) and invest some for longer term/wealth generation

we are not in the era where people inherit a farm from parents and work the farm all life..
we are not in the era where people learn a skillcraft/speciality work all life..

we are in a era of job shuffling, especially in retail and tech where there is an abundance of candidates. where things change

things do change, projects change, tech changes.. so expect changes.. expect businesses to change their employee to meet a businesses updated needs.

[boyptc]

Tech layoffs continue.

US isn't yet to announce that they're in recession while the other counterparts they have and allies have already did.

These massive tech layoffs are signs that the economy isn't doing good. 

Currently, most people only depend on one source of income for their livelihood, and depend on the company where they work. So advances in technology and AI will be of particular concern, because their position could be replaced by robots.

AI plays a big thing on these layoffs but it can just be a reasoning for what the actual economy and these companies are going through. Most of the employees of these companies have good salary ranges and they don't have to find another job to stick with because they're too confident.

These layoffs are going to give them the idea that whether they're tenured, trusted and have in the industry for a long time, no one has mercy on these times when the company decides to layoffs a bunch of them.

[slashz9]

I think this will be a long-term trend in the use of AI, although not immediately but slowly it is starting to appear, but in my opinion after many jobs are replaced by AI, there will be new job opportunities, isn't that usually the case?
There will always be opportunities in every closing.