Since the start of 2023, about 300 companies have laid-off well over 100,000 tech employees. What’s the news behind the headlines? Let’s recap what’s really going on.
First, of the employees laid off, most are from the very large companies like Google, Amazon, Microsoft, Zoom, Dell and the like. What isn’t being widely reported is that industries like automakers, manufacturing and other heavy industries are picking up some of the slack. In addition, smaller and mid-sized companies can now afford tech-savvy people to improve their efficiencies by updating/upgrading their systems. Not widely understood is that small and mid-sized companies employ more tech employees than all of the big tech companies combined, but at a lower pay level.
What caused some of the tech disruption? Prior to the pandemic, the tech industry added well over a million workers. When the pandemic hit and the government sent out billions of dollars of stimulus checks. the general public was flush with cash and many spent it on computers, electronic games and new smartphones. This pushed up the numbers of tech workers dramatically. When the easy money stopped and sales for these items came to a halt, the tech companies had too many employees for the demand and had to cut back. When consumers stopped buying, tech companies laid off employees and the cycle reversed itself.
Now we’re beginning to rebalance the economy with the tech industry primarily focusing on three areas of high demand: Artificial intelligence with the use of computers and systems that normally use human intelligence; cybersecurity and the prevention of hacking into company or individual accounts; cloud computing using a network of remote servers hosted on the internet to store, manage, and process data. These three areas of tech are in great demand. What’s interesting is that the demand for tech workers has not gone down, but what has changed is the shift in the type of work in the tech industry.
So, how does that affect you or those in the technology field? Here are some pointers:
- If you’re not currently in the technology industry, get some training or take courses to at least provide some knowledge, skill or experience in the field. You’ll need it eventually.
- If you’re in the tech industry, update and upgrade your certifications to expand the skills that will be needed in the future. The wider your skills and experiences the greater your future potential to capture the opportunities one or two years out.
- If you’re part of a large company as one of many in your field, consider moving to a smaller organization where you are one of a kind. You can contribute more, have expanded areas of responsibility and grow in knowledge and level with the growth of the company.
- Those who have the type of jobs that can be replaced through artificial intelligence are the most vulnerable in the coming years.
Plan a strategy so you’re not caught in the squeeze.
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