Thinking About Working #11
Written by Noah Leavitt, Director of the Career and Community Engagement Center
Tech Sector Transitions
The complex situation in the tech industry continues to evolve since we began exploring this topic two weeks ago. Yet, is it becoming any more clarified? Hard to tell. Today I want to share expert perspectives that open up ways to think about this moment.
Spoiler alert: I conclude … let’s keep reading and being curious and hold off on any conclusions.
First, a quick scan of the headlines:
It remains clear, and worrisome, that the layoffs are having an unequal impact on different population groups. MSNBC noted how the recent job cuts have “disproportionately affected women.“ A recent Inc. column by Xintian Tina Wang offers suggestions about ways to try to keep these layoffs from undermining workforce diversity, which has been a rising concern over the last several months.
It also remains clear that the pace of the layoffs is not slowing down. In a recent story about how Yahoo plans to cut about 20% of its workforce, or roughly 1,700 jobs, over the next year, CBS News noted, “In the past month alone, tech companies have cut nearly 60,000 jobs, reversing a hiring spree that surged during the pandemic as millions of Americans moved their lives online. IBM was one of the latest to slash its headcount, announcing 3,900 layoffs in January or less than 2% of its global workforce.”
Yet, that story then goes on to claim that it’s too soon to tell what that means for tech workers and “despite the cascade of layoff announcements, employment in the information sector rose through most of last year, dropping only in December. That suggests demand for talent remains strong enough that many laid-off tech employees will likely be able to find new jobs.” So, wait and see.
Over in higher education, a Chronicle story last week asked what Big Tech layoffs might mean for higher education STEM programs, observing, “If history is any guide, it will most likely take some time for students and undergraduate academic programs to adjust to the changing job market.” Again, wait and see.
One question about the larger economic landscape is whether tech cuts are connected to or are a harbinger of larger economic stresses. While the year began with worries about this, the conversation seems to be changing. Last week, in particular, commentators started to offer more optimism about the state of the economy, with some saying “recession alarm bells are ringing, but (much) less loudly than before” (Reuters), others claiming “the recession has gone missing“ (Barron’s) and the often-gloomy New York Times even pondering this, “What Recession? Some Economists See Chances of a Growth Rebound.”
To gain context, I reached out to President’s Advisory Board member Norman Cheuk ’91, the General Manager of Xbox Asia & Global Expansion for Microsoft. Norman has had a long and successful career in the tech sector and he generously shared thoughts with me about what he is seeing:
I was also able to learn from Whitman’s newest colleague in our Computer Science Department, Professor Jordan Wirfs-Brock, who interned at Yahoo, Mozilla, and Spotify while she was completing her PhD and provided context on how she is reading the situation now:
“The tech industry can be volatile on smaller time scales as well. I’ve noticed this on the research side of tech companies, where research teams will emerge and turn into amazing hotbeds of activity for a few years, and then the company will decide that it can no longer fund R&D and completely dismantle a research team. It’s super common for people to hop from company to company, even in ‘business as usual’ times. That can be scary, and a hard position to be for someone who thrives on security and consistency. But there are also people who thrive in taking on new positions and adapting to new teams.”
These two valuable conversations allowed me to take a step back from the immediate moment and appreciate what we’re seeing over a larger time period”.
For students, I encourage you to explore the implications for the shifting economy on your internship and job prospects with my informative and helpful colleagues in the Career and Community Engagement Center (CCEC). In general, we advise that it’s useful for students to identify a variety of options, rather than one “dream” internship or job. We’re always happy to talk with you about how to expand your list!
For alumni (and also worth reading by students), I’d like to share a piece of advice from Norman, which he also shared with students at the recent Seattle Whitties Helping Whitties event:
“If you have been laid off, don’t be discouraged and certainly don’t think it is reflective of your value. Layoffs happen for a variety of reasons, but in my experience, it is not about the individual. Redundancies are simply the organization making the difficult decision to optimize its business with various programs, initiatives, or groups being eliminated and not a result of whether a particular individual was doing well or not in their job. To the person losing their job, that may not be much comfort, but I have seen many people who have come off layoffs to find new opportunities and were much better off for it.”
(Also, if you, or anyone you know, are impacted by recent layoffs, one of my favorite LinkedIn authors, Czarina Tabayoyong, recently posted a useful list of 10 Ways to Support Professionals Affected by Layoffs.)
Thank you for paying attention to the moment we’re all in. Please let me know what else you’d like me to cover in upcoming columns via leavitns@whitman.edu.