Revisiting the Tech Layoffs a Year Later

In August 2022, a seemingly thriving tech industry started to slow down. Recruiters who had been hiring engineers so fast you could get whiplash from watching suddenly began having more time on their hands.

Hiring freezes began getting announced and then the whispers of layoffs began to get louder.

By the end of 2022 over 87,000 workers got shown the door, with many, (myself included) still trying to pick up the pieces.

During this edition of 'The Honest Accomplice,' I look back at what happened, examine what is happening and make an educated assessment of what I expect to happen.

I will also provide insight into the current state of companies that had massive layoffs, while keeping those who told me anonymous for their protection.

The Cold and Heartless Reality

When you are constantly told that big tech is the top of the totem pole and that it is recession proof and then you actually get a job there, there is a distinct feeling of near invincibility.

Even as things start to crumble around you, and you see companies begin letting people go you think, 'that will never be me.'

This is only enhanced when you are a top performer and are being given project after project.

As others are sitting at their desk doing trainings because there is no money to hire, you are busier than you ever have been creating resourcing and trainings, plans and collaborations.

'Nobody is dumb enough to let go people making a difference,' you think.

A few weeks go by,

One day you wake up to find one of the other FAANG companies is letting go thousands of workers and your heart sinks.

In the back of your mind a thought you have not allowed to creep in begins to slowly move forward...'Are we at risk?'

More and more companies announce layoffs and then you are sitting at work on a seemingly normal Wednesday and you start getting messages, all with a link to the same New York Times article.

The article announces your company is going to cut over 10,000 jobs.

Okay....time to panic.

Everyone has a different opinion on what will happen who is at risk and how it will play out. This is the first time in your companies history they have let people go.

Managers and their managers are scrambling.

The first wave hits.

You are safe

But then it comes out that there are more layoffs coming in January and you are given the option of taking early severance.

You don't take it, betting on yourself.

Then the newspaper posts another article stating January 18th, another round of cuts.

The day comes and everyone sits at their desk on pins and needles.

You can an e-mail. It is generic and cold and states, 'we have sadly had to make cuts and yours is one of the ones affected.'

Your heart drops.

In the matter of months you went from bulletproof to unemployed with nothing but a short severance and the prayer that having a FAANG company on your resume will make it easier to find a role.

So Heartless

It wasn't just that there were layoffs that made it so bad. It was the way it happened and how we were treated that really left a bad taste in the mouth of those let go.

For one, it was clear that no consideration was given to how people were performing. This was cost cutting. Sr level executives and managers were dropping at the same rate as entry level. Those in executive positions quickly were quitting because they saw the writing on the wall and took other opportunities.

Every day it seemed someone we counted on was no longer there.

I truly felt bad for the managers who we were counting on for information because they had no more information than we did. Everything was kept at the top (except for the newspaper leaks but more on that in a moment)

When the information about the layoffs first came out, managers started holding meeting so that people could vent.

However soon more and more gossip caused unnecessary panic and the meetings stopped.

Suffice to say everyone's mental health was shot to hell.

I have to give credit where credit is due, Rebecca Leonetti and another female (choosing not to name to protect her) did an incredible job maintaining whatever sanity they had left and created as much calm as they could... If they didn't have any sanity left, then they need to get into acting.

Let's talk about those leaks. Let me start by saying nothing I say is based on fact, just intuition. But my gut is that there was a lot of disagreement at the top about how to do things and before common ground was found someone says something that makes it to the newspapers which accelerated the cuts because now it is out there. Either that or it was a 'strategic leak,' and if that was the case, which I wouldn't put past, that is a level of cruelty nobody deserved.

The thing is if the leak was not planned then they rushed the cuts and less consideration was given making everyone pissed off.

I want to be very clear, there is no good way to fire people but there are ways you can make it more humane and to my knowledge, none of the major companies chose to go the humane route.

As for those CEO's that went online crying about what they had to do? Don't get me started. There was clearly a disconnect from reality...yeah that is that.

The State of Now

I am going to group 'the state of now' as everything that happened since I was let go January 18th until the end of September.

There is so much to unpack here...

It should be common knowledge by now that in the aftermath of the pandemic companies were over hiring by a large amount. Large companies were throwing money at people as much to keep them away from other companies as they were out of need.

Some companies were driving salaries up for individuals that simply did not meet the bar (not company specific bar reference). I remember we had a candidate who did not show well get an offer from a well known food delivery company for nearly 200k more.

What does not get talked about enough is the amount of people that got let go during the pandemic that spent whatever money they had left going to coding academies, the PMI and others to transfer into a career in tech because, again, it was supposed to be bulletproof.

When the tech layoffs started happening this meant that not only did you have people that had been in tech roles for years upon years on unemployment, but you had this incredible number of career changers whom had a hard enough time finding work competing with veterans of industry for the same roles.

Same thing was happening for recruiters and human resources.

Those in DEIB roles like me? First to go.

I'll tell you straight up, I knew how little companies valued diversity equity and inclusion, but what I didn't realize was how deep they intended to bury it.

I refused to consider anything outside of DEIB for the first 3 months of my unemployment. Then I realized something...until another killing happens that rocks the nation or another colossal situation, there was no way companies were bringing back a focus on DEIB like they did 5 years ago and no matter how hard I want to fight for it, I need to fight for my family first, so I had to expand to Program Management.

Saying the Market Sucks Doesn't do it Justice

When the layoffs first happened, we were told not to hold our breath for jobs to come back until the end Q1 mid Q2. By Q2 we were told August. Now it is the end of September and those trying to find roles in recruitment would have better luck finding tickets for Taylor Swift.

Smaller companies that would have been priced out from hiring high end talent suddenly had hundreds if not thousands of applicants because a gross majority of the roles people expected, just were not there.

Compounding the issue of finding work was the fact that with so many out of work in HR and Recruitment, the people you had gotten used to being able to rely on (like me) had no answers and were looking for roles ourselves.

Interviews dried up and getting a response from an application felt like winning the lottery.

Companies understood that they could be as specific as they wanted meaning that to have a conversation you had to not only meet basic qualifications but also preferred.

Want to know how bad it gets? Here is an example.

I get laid off January 18. No interviews for months. Sharon Boyd , who is family to me happens to be a lead recruiter. She calls me up one day saying she has a role that I am very well suited for. We work on my resume she pushes it through.

I get an interview with the hiring manager. The call is scheduled for 15 minute, we speak for 45.

The feedback: Dan came incredibly well prepared. Would hire him in a second. Really like him.

Did I get the job? No. I didn't have a specific subset of experience and they needed someone to come in and hit the ground running without having to train.

I am told I am high on their list, but so far no more roles have opened up.

Without Sharon, I never would have gotten a sniff and this is not an uncommon level of scrutinization over roles.

Examining What is Left

All these companies let people go, no roles are left, so what does it look like for those that remained?

Is it all roses or has these layoffs had a decidedly nasty lasting effect.

Here is a message from a former colleague:

Since you left, they have done nothing but put us on the edge of our seats every single day worrying about our job security. It is mentally exhausting. When I tell you that I struggle daily, I am not saying it lightly. It is HORRIBLE. So much so that I am wondering if it is worth my health.

It wasn't just one company. I have friends that are directors at other companies talking about how they are barren with entire divisions shut down. These individuals are having to do the work of five and not getting paid for it.

They are clawing to get any sort of funding.

I've spoken to Directors of TA whose companies did not expand during the boom the last few years, seeing that a downturn was bound to happen. For the whole time others were hiring, their teams were working long hours mentally exhausted. Now they still have their jobs but are burnt out.

The hiring of contractors can only help so much.

It truly seems like there is no safe space regardless of where you are.

Yes those still working can pay the bills, but what the ignorance of this society, these companies have done is to create a situation in which those that are still working are burning out to the point they can't take it, leaving the door open for those who are running out of money to take their place.

Most people do not want to find a job because of the fall of another.

This leads us to

What Does the Future Hold?

A question everyone wants to know.

Normally it is also something I am good at predicting.

I've asked directors from across the world when things will turn around and every single time they get uncomfortable and skirt around the topic.

What they do say amounts to them knowing the economy will turn but no idea when.

It is for this reason that I can't sit here and tell you from a job perspective what the future holds.

What I can do is provide some educated guesses based on my experience.

• I do NOT believe tech companies are ever going to be looked at the same again. Even though for many it will still represent dream jobs, the harm that has been done with how they handled the layoffs, how they continue to handle those that are left and their complete disregard on what is best for their employees has left too much of a sour taste and rightfully so.
• I do NOT believe career coaches by and large are providing job seekers the correct perspective. In my opinion, we, as experts have an obligation to protect those that come to us including protecting them against themselves. We live in a cyclical society when things come and go. All those people that took coding courses 4 years ago because their previous careers went down the toilet are finding it to have been a bad investment. Just like doctors, experts need to provide both the prospective benefits AND the potential side effects that can be encountered. Let them make informed decisions.
• Hybrid/Onsite work will continue to be the norm even though it shouldn't. If companies want employees to work to their potential they need to stop worrying about getting everyone in an office and instead ask candidates what works best for them. More than 30% of society is neurodiverse and many of us face comorbidities making 'normal' situations difficult. Give us the opportunity to work how we work best and you will find Culture ADD that will transform your company. Oh and before I forget, a lot of these companies used return to work to weed out additional employees so that they didn't have to pay more severance.
• This entire cycle we have been going through will happen again because it protects the 2%

Conclusion

It took me a week to write this newsletter. It is hard to look back at so much and find the right words. Truth is I don't know if I did it justice.

There were a million directions I wanted to go in and that led to a lot of clutter.

It is extremely hard for me not to be bitter at what unfolded. I did not deserve what happened but neither did anyone.

On the flip side, this year forced me to grow again and learn a lot that I would not have had to otherwise.

I won't truly know how the dust settles until I am back working and can take a break from worrying long enough to have an unbiased perspective.

We will see.

A Note About Dan Roth Consulting

One of the ways I have grown is that the events forced me to become an entrepreneur.

Dan Roth Consulting specializes in assisting serious professionals build their platform and brand. From Content and Brand strategy to content creation, marketing, live event production, graphic design, Powerpoint Presentations and more we do it all. I also have the extreme privilege of partnering with incredible professionals like ana gil Fuljens Henry Bradley Vinson and Wanita Z. enabling my clients to get assistance with projects beyond what I am individually capable of.

If you are interested in learning more, check out Dan Roth Consulting and fill out a contact form.

I look forward to working with you.

Sincerely,

Dan