The layoffs in the high-tech sector that hit the industry in 2023 will continue into 2024, with many companies, from large tech companies to small and medium-sized companies, cutting staff.
Amazon.com Inc.
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The company recently announced it would cut “hundreds” of positions across its Prime Video and MGM Studios organizations, while Twitch, the Amazon-owned live streaming platform, announced it would cut more than 500 jobs. Other companies cutting jobs include Xerox Holdings.
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Unity Software Co., Ltd.
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DocuSign Inc.
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Octa Co., Ltd.
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and eBay Inc.
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Meanwhile, this week, Snapchat’s parent company Snap Inc.
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The company said it plans to cut about 10% of its workforce.
Against this backdrop, numerous support groups have formed on LinkedIn to help laid-off workers network and find new roles. The Tech League is one of them, billing itself as a “by everyone, for everyone” league that has been affected by the layoffs in Alphabet Inc.’s technology division.
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Google, Amazon.com Inc., Microsoft Corp.
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Salesforce Co., Ltd.
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others.
Related: 10% of employees suddenly reduced as engineers continue to be laid off
The group has attracted more than 1,200 members since it was founded in January 2023. Group representatives say the Tech League gives people the opportunity to “cross-network” with competitors at a time when the technology industry is under fire. This allows people to meet new allies and cross boundaries between competitors, while also reminding them that they have friends and allies who understand them, representatives said. added.
“People share opportunities within groups that they think others may benefit from. People within groups may not share opportunities for others even after finding a new job. People are willing to continue to help others and are willing to accept. They are helping people who are still looking for work,” the source told MarketWatch. “In terms of roles, human resources, compliance and ethical roles, especially those surrounding artificial intelligence (AI), appear to be heavily impacted, as well as marketing, data center infrastructure, consulting and sales roles in the technology sector.” is.”
The U.S. West Coast, Australia and New Zealand appear to be the most affected by job cuts, the representative said. “Industries most affected by layoffs include disability, ethics, and defense technology companies,” they added.
Related: Amazon cuts “hundreds” of jobs at Prime Video and MGM Studios, Twitch continues to lay off engineers with “over 500” layoffs
So far this year, 135 tech companies have laid off 33,874 employees, according to the website Layoffs.fyi. The tech industry saw significant job cuts last year, with 1,186 companies around the world cutting 262,682 jobs, the website said.
Also on LinkedIn, the Tech Layoff Resources, Job Opportunities and Candidates group was founded in late 2022 around the time of Twitter’s layoffs and has since attracted more than 1,300 members. “It was created to help people who have been laid off (providing leads, positions and useful resources in one place),” a representative for the group told MarketWatch. “When we see something on our feed that is interesting to people looking for jobs or candidates, we post it there.” As the group grew, more people started doing the same, the representative added. .
Some groups aim to help workers in specific regions, such as the Hoosier State-focused Indiana Tech Layoff Group. The group was funded by Jennifer Merrell, chair of Franklin College’s Digital Fluency Advisory Council and former vice president of TechPoint, an Indianapolis technology accelerator, and Melinda Gates, and was founded by Melinda Gates. It was founded by Linda Calvin, chief impact officer of the aspirational venture Reboot Representation. Gender gaps in technology for Black, Latinx, and Native American women.
Related: Technology job cuts are back in the spotlight as Xerox begins 2024 with layoffs
Since its founding last year, the group has attracted 160 members.
“We had to think that someone needed to do something to encourage employment for people,” Merrell told MarketWatch. “We have some big technology companies. [in Indiana]and all the small and medium-sized businesses that fund it,” she said, highlighting companies such as Salesforce Inc., Infosys Ltd.
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and state software company Genesis.
Calvin said job cuts in the tech sector have also disproportionately affected women and people of color, pointing to the reduction in HR and DEI (diversity, equity and inclusion) positions that have been hired in recent years. . “Last in, first out,” she said. “Someone needs to respond and respond to this and help people connect. We’re lucky that we know a lot of people.”
Related: Okta to cut 400 jobs as part of drive for profitable growth and stock price appreciation
Calvin also said technology layoffs are having “some impact” on roles such as marketing, sales and customer service, but less so on other roles such as coding and cybersecurity. . “You don’t often hear the term ‘code smashing’ when it comes to cybersecurity. [cuts]” she told MarketWatch. “I had heard of a few, but they found roles quickly.”
As laid-off workers try to find work, Calvin points to opportunities in industries that rely heavily on technology, including Walmart’s
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In addition to Indiana, the pharmaceutical giant Eli Lilly also has a presence.
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It is headquartered in Indianapolis. “There are opportunities where people need to look at every company as a technology-enabled company,” she said.
Other major companies in Indiana include defense giant Raytheon.rolls royce
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We have manufacturing, assembly, testing and engineering facilities in Indianapolis. Roche Diagnostics has its North American headquarters in Indianapolis.and Zimmer Biomet Holdings Co., Ltd.
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The head office is located in Warsaw, India.
Watch now: Alphabet’s X division cuts dozens of jobs: report
Last year, Heartland Bioworks in Bloomington, Indiana, was designated by the U.S. Department of Commerce’s Economic Development Administration as one of 31 locations to become a regional technology hub for the first time. This hub will focus on biotech innovation.
Merrell also sees opportunities for laid-off technology workers to reskill in AI. “I think 2024 is going to be the year that machine learning engineers emerge,” she told her MarketWatch. “There are only about 150,000 machine learning engineers in the world today.”
“I think this is a huge opportunity to change direction,” she added.