Tiffany Zhu

As the Bay Area has largely returned to in-person pre-pandemic norms, corporations now grapple with the employment of more workers than they can provide for. Reductions in the tech workforce pose a significant challenge for both current engineers and recent college graduates looking to enter the field.

Since the start of the year, tech companies across the globe have extinguished approximately 75,000 jobs according to layoffs tracker layoffs.fyi. Engineers in the computing world prepare for the new wave of layoffs as prominent companies like Cisco, Google and Amazon’s Audible each plan to eliminate 5% of their entire workforce this year. 

In 2020, the pandemic shifted most activities online and allowed tech companies to open up remote jobs without the need for more physical office space, prompting a surge in recruitment. As the Bay Area has largely returned to in-person pre-pandemic norms, corporations now grapple with the employment of more workers than they can provide for. Last year, tech company office reductions left over 260,000 staff members unemployed, and just last month, Apple notified 614 workers from offices in Santa Clara that they would be laid off.

Harker Programming Club and Robotics Club officer Brenna Ren (10) reflected on the anxieties that students who aspire to become tech professionals may harbor as the possibility of layoffs becomes more common. 

“The tech industry is usually seen as one of the fields where you can be the most successful, and it’s very stable,” Brenna said. “But with all these layoffs, it challenges this idea. I think there’s still a lot of potential in the tech industry, but we’ll just have to see how it improves in the future.” 

Reductions in the tech workforce pose a significant challenge for both current engineers and recent college graduates looking to enter the field. Software engineer George Wang, who currently works at a startup in the Bay Area, completed an internship at Amazon after graduating from UC Berkeley. He shares his experience of seeking advice from others in the industry when applying for his full-time job. 

“When you’re hired full-time, the company has to give you benefits and health care,” Wang said. “There’s a lot more risk for the company to take, as well as for you to take when deciding what your first job is. When I applied, I got help from my peers, parents and people that I looked up to who were a little further down in their careers.”

With the new surge in artificial intelligence, the false perception that the industry is flourishing may conceal the reality of these reductions. An anonymous source who was laid off from Meta last year shed light on the unexpected nature of layoffs. 

“Generally, most of the employees in the tech industry tend to stay in one place because they build up familiarity and relationships that make them more productive,” the source said. “Usually, they only go because of some changes in the company’s economic situation. I’m a stay-put kind of guy, so I don’t want to move unless the company is not in a good position.”

Workforce reductions also present productivity challenges for companies if they risk losing hardworking employees. The fear of the next wave of layoffs further incites more people to leave, but layoffs are unavoidable when a certain project fails to bring in profits.

“Layoffs are very detrimental to a company, and every leader knows that,” the source said. “They don’t want to do it unless it’s the last resort. They do it because they miscalculated the personnel costs and the cost of running a company or project. They have to retain that profit, and it’s as simple as that, no matter how you sugarcoat it.”

Swati Mittal previously worked at international tech companies like Sopra Steria and has personally witnessed the toll layoffs have taken on her friends and family members. 

“Getting laid off from a job is very difficult,” Mittal said. “If you’re the only person with an income in your family, it’s very stressful. If you’re highly paid, especially in a manager role, I have seen that those people are the first ones to get laid off. There’s emotional mental stress that you have to go through.”

Mittal experienced the tech industry’s last turbulent period during the Great Recession in 2008. Although she and her college friends felt discouraged by their job application rejections, they persevered by searching for more opportunities and pursuing further education like a master’s degree. Mittal offered advice to students who may face a similar unsteady job market in the future. 

“Try to not stress out too much because you’re just starting out, and things like this happen,” Mittal said. “Time will pass and you will get something eventually. Being in that age is difficult, so just keep your calm and indulge in your hobbies to find things that can give you some happiness. Don’t be angry with yourself and take care of yourself.”