Where will all the laid off tech workers go to? | Are we at max pain already?

 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FVsGAoFlw20

I saw this video from CNBC where they talked about tech companies having to lay off substantial numbers of employees due to them hiring excessively in 2020 - 2021. We all know what is going on right now in the tech industry with cost-cutting measures and layoffs are probably a huge part of it.

It is no surprise that tech layoffs are on the rise. With the current economic situation, companies are scrambling to cut costs and layoffs are one way to do so. The impact of the layoffs is being felt around the world, with tech workers being let go from their jobs in the United States, Europe, India, and beyond.

On 16 February 2023, Google also laid off some workers in Singapore, about 189 staff and it’s crazy thinking that this is now also hitting home especially for such a huge company. Google is definitely not just the only one that has laid off staff in Singapore and we are in tough times as inflation in the latest CPI index did not seem to budge and so interest rate hikes should be coming our way and we could really see that when the numbers came out.

Where will all the workers go?

I believe certain industries are affected by the macro economic factors while other industries are actually recovering or hiring for example tourism and services as borders are opening and revenge travelling is occurring in certain areas or population. So if tech workers are being retrenched? Where are they going?

To be honest, tech and particularly those involved in software or computer engineering are actually still in demand. Even outside of the tech industry, they are still sought after although I am not sure if they can command the same high pay as they did in the Big Tech. Big Tech managed to attract so many people because it had a hiring boom and had so many great perks coupled with stocks and great pay packages.

Big Tech workers don’t form the core backbone of the economy but they do form a substantial amount of the workforce and considering the scale of the tech companies and other functions in a tech company (Corporate functions, marketing etc), by the numbers, it is pretty huge. However for tech workers especially those with the relevant skillsets, finding another job might not be tough but depending on what you want, the job search journey might be different.

Workers with in-demand tech skill sets, namely engineers, will likely have the easiest time finding more work, wherever they decide to go. There were about 300,000 job postings for tech professionals in December, lower than its peak but roughly consistent with the past four years, according to a December 2022 report from tech hiring platform Dice. The biggest and fastest-growing industries for tech professionals are finance, manufacturing, and healthcare.

Individuals with technology skills are still needed in many industries and with the recent AI boom, the are places for them especially if their skill sets are relevant. But I have to say that many of those who were laid off were in the recruiting space as the companies were aware that they will not be hiring as cost cutting measures are in place.

More pain to come?

I believe/think that more layoffs will be coming, with the previous inflation numbers looking still high, I think there might be more pain ahead. However of course, anything can happen and nothing is certain but I do think there is not much pain yet, most of the pain is from inflation for us, folks.

Jobs numbers are high so the unemployment numbers have dipped, this doesn’t really sound good for inflation as it means there are jobs around and with unemployment lower, people do have a salary to pay for things. Most of the jobs are jobs in the hospitality and leisure as tourism picks up.

Don’t really want to predict anything but my portfolio has actually recovered significantly from the start of the year till date. Excited to be sharing my Q1 portfolio updates after March although things might look different as CPI and interest rate hikes will be happening in March. Happy to continuing the DCA-ing and building up my portfolio value. Wishing all a Happy March as it is also my birthday month😃!