The tech world has seen an avalanche of layoffs in recent months as rising interest rates and a slowing economy take their toll on the capital-intensive high-growth industry.
Yet, with the pandemic tech boom behind us, Silicon Valley is in for some serious belt-tightening to get through the tough times, and the industry is now clearing a lot of excess glut from its guts.
Starting in the fourth quarter of 2022, with huge axings from Meta and others, the bloodbath continues to wash over the industry. Almost every day, there’s a new headline announcing more cuts, with LinkedIn, Twitter, and Zoom among the latest to trim staff count.
Already in 2023, tech companies have shown the door to around 120,000 employees, more than half the total staff cut in 2022, according to Layoffs.fyi, a site tracking the industry trend.
“Now tech is looking less like a promise land and more like a wasteland,” said Krystal Ball of Breaking Points, who views the job culling as part of a long overdue correction of the broader American economy.