U.S. tech sector sees highest job cuts in May since Dec. 2020 - report

[mahatmakanejeeves]

Source: Reuters, via Yahoo! Finance

Reuters

U.S. tech sector sees highest job cuts in May since Dec. 2020 - report

Thu, June 2, 2022, 2:02 PM

(Reuters) - U.S. employers in the technology sector cut nearly nine times more jobs in May than in the first four months of the year as rising inflation and slowing demand force companies to cut corners.

Though overall layoffs in the country reported by global outplacement firm Challenger, Gray & Christmas on Thursday fell 14.7% in May from April, thanks to strong demand in the labor market, the technology sector cut 4,044 jobs, up from the 459 between January and April. ... It is the highest monthly total since December 2020 when tech companies cut as many as 5,253 jobs.

"Many technology startups that saw tremendous growth in 2020, particularly in the real estate, financial, and delivery sectors, are beginning to see a slowdown in users, and coupled with inflation and interest rate concerns, are restructuring their workforces to cut costs," said Andrew Challenger, senior vice president of challenger, Gray & Christmas.



The impact of the Ukraine crisis, a four-decade high inflation and rising interest rates has led to forecast cuts by companies such as Snap Inc and Microsoft, while others like Meta Platforms Inc have slowed hiring to rein in costs. ... Fintech companies also announced 268% more job cuts in May than in the first four months of 2022, the report from Challenger, Gray & Christmas said. ... However, the number of Americans filing new claims for unemployment benefits unexpectedly fell last week. Initial claims for state unemployment benefits fell 11,000 to a seasonally adjusted 200,000 for the week ended May 28, the Labor Department said on Thursday.

(Reporting by Tiyashi Datta in Bengaluru; Editing by Shinjini Ganguli)

Read more: https://finance.yahoo.com/news/u-tech-sector-sees-highest-180258108.html

---

Someone else brought up this issue at DU earlier today. I'll find the post.

Warpy, that's who it was. So, hat tip, Warpy

Tech companies are laying of huge numbers of employees

https://www.democraticunderground.com/10142924929#post3

[yaesu]

1. everyones just trying to put food on the table, keep gas in their cars so the electronic toys

& games are just going to have to wait. The pent up covid demand is fading also. Unlike housing, there is an infinite supply of china junk, online fun sites, so supply will far surpass demand. I guess this is the only silver lining for most tech jobs being overseas, when it crashes it ill be a lil blimp on most Americans economic radar, maybe bezo * musk will throw a fit.

[Crowman2009]

3. Not to mention that people don't want whatever junk they are selling on the social media sites.

I tend to scroll away from them very quickly. Maybe the companies pumping a boatload of money into these ads, and not getting any revenue in return, is the reason for the tech company layoffs. Also a lot of these tech companies were relying too much on crypto. So the deep dive in their value took a chunk out of them.

[yaesu]

5. good points. nt

[IronLionZion]

2. I stole these tech jobs

Sorry DUers, my bad

My inbox is full of recruiters who want me for tech jobs. So it varies by field. Cybersecurity, Cloud, and User Experience are in high demand. Program/project management will always be needed and never not be needed. Then other specialties like database and Agile are hot now.

Fewer H1Bs want to come to the land of racism, mass shootings, and being onsite during COVID. Americans like to work from home. I seriously only saw 4 people plus me on the whole floor of my office today. So if you're a US citizen with absolutely no experience but the right attitude, you can get a tech job at any contracting firm anywhere in America pretty easily these days.

[yaesu]

4. An interesting insight on the market, makes sense that demand for US workers in the tech field

should increase for all the reasons mentioned. When corporations figure out that well paid domestic workers also make great consumers maybe they will quit shipping jobs overseas but I doubt it.

[Ollie Garkie]

6. I'm trying to get into IT

No formal documented experience but I have a network + cert and probably soon security+. Where are are these contractors that are hiring with no experience? I've had no luck in applying.

[IronLionZion]

7. Get Security+ it's a good start

put up profiles on LinkedIn, Monster, Dice, etc. and apply for jobs requiring those certs. That's how I apply for jobs and how recruiters contact me.

OK, so no experience was a slight exaggeration. You can get by without the exact technical experience required as long as you have some demonstrated experience in a related field and show that you are eager to study and learn the job.

And if you come across the job application site Taleo.com, make sure to enter in keywords from the job description into your application. Take your time and do it right. Then your application can get through the filters so a human can see it and want to talk to you. Also look to referrals from anyone you know who works in the field or in the company. They can send your application directly to a person who does hiring.

[Ollie Garkie]

8. I see

That it' s the usual conundrum of how to get that first
Chunk of experience? Any thoughts?

[IronLionZion]

9. Absolutely that's the hardest and most important part

Cast a wide net. Apply to internships, nonprofits, charities, and other nontraditional jobs. Even a few months experience is helpful to apply for better jobs.

If you're in a training course, talk with classmates who have been working to see about opportunities in their companies. There's often somebody who just won or is about to win a contract and needs more staff. Their company would have sent them for training in anticipation of upcoming work. Get involved in industry associations and go to their conferences, which are often online if you don't have a local one in your city. Since you have Network+ you are already familiar with COMPTIA. They have events. I've gotten interviews and jobs this way before.

Good luck