When Big Tech Cuts Jobs: Early Warning Signs for the Rest of Us from Tech Layoffs
A headline about another tech layoff doesn’t even raise eyebrows anymore. It may never have bothered you, especially if your job isn’t “in tech.” We acquired one of our most skilled teammates as a result of a major tech layoff. Does it matter to you, anyway, if you don’t have a job in tech? It might — but maybe not directly. We know about Microsoft, Google, and Amazon. But tech layoffs affect workers at Software as a Service (SaaS) companies like PayPal, Salesforce, and many other services you use regularly. These layoffs also hit AI companies and startups. It’s important to understand, though, that technology companies are deeply embedded in your daily life. That means they can provide early warning signals, and they have ripple effects that touch almost every worker, consumer, and small business.
The Ripple Effect: How Tech Money Flows Through Everyday Life
Jobs in technology do tend to pay well, for many reasons. Many of them don’t require a college degree, but the top-tier jobs do. They carry significant stress at every level and require a layer of trust by necessity. So, it may be hard to feel sorry for a tech worker who gets laid off. Remember, though, that those workers are supporting their communities — restaurants, childcare, housing, and services. Those evaporating dollars shrink the local economy. The more workers in an area who are laid off, the bigger the impact of that ripple effect. Non-tech workers and small businesses feel those layoffs, but there are secondary impacts as well. They cause reduced local tax revenue, budget cuts, and necessary changes to public services.
What Tech Layoffs Signal About the Economy
Tech companies face the same problems that most other types of companies do. They can see a slowdown in demand, having hired too many people during a boom, pressure from investors to increase profit, and rising interest rates. Tech companies, though, are disproportionately affected by automation offered by artificial intelligence tools. Many technology companies overestimated the benefits AI was going to provide and rushed to replace human jobs with AI processes. The fallout from that miscalculation is causing repercussions throughout the industry, creating misalignments between personnel and business objectives.
When a major tech company announces layoffs, it’s rarely just a story about one company or even one industry. Those cuts usually reflect bigger forces: people changing how they spend money, businesses trimming their advertising budgets, and employers experimenting with automation and AI to save costs. The important thing is that those forces don’t stop at Big Tech’s doors—they shape the job market, the stability of local businesses, and even the public services we all rely on.
Impact of Tech Layoffs on Regular Workers: Not Just Engineers
As one company lays off hundreds or thousands of employees, a shape-shift occurs in the job market. With the ubiquity of Internet connectivity, we’re seeing more competition for remote roles and changing salary expectations from both employers and employees. What’s more, these layoffs don’t just hit software engineers. They also ripple through HR teams, marketing departments, product design groups, finance, and operations. After a major cut, the people who stay are often asked to absorb tasks that used to belong to entire roles or teams. Recruiters are doing general HR, marketers juggling analytics plus content, designers taking on product management duties. That kind of internal realignment affects work quality, burnout risk, and the services customers receive.
For both the exiting employee and the one left behind, it is almost certainly a time of both opportunity and requirement for reskilling. The job Joe occupied for several years will likely not look much like the one he takes on, because while Joe was keeping his head down and working diligently at the tasks assigned to him, the world changed. The forces that edged him out of his desk will be the required skills at his new post. It may mean an entirely different job title, and it could even result in a complete career transition. But it could still result in whatever constitutes “job security,” even if it’s in a different industry. Both the leavers and the stayers will need to roll up their sleeves and find ways to learn these new skills.
As both a tech worker and a consumer of tech services, I see both ends. My contract is secure for its term, but each contract may have new initiatives that require skills I need to acquire. And as a creative, running a fine art photography business, I depend on online platforms, tools, and a certain level of ad ecosystems. If there aren’t enough engineers to keep those systems healthy, my work can suffer, and I’ll have to spend a lot of time waiting to talk with an overworked help desk coordinator. Imagine this playing out all over the country!
Hidden Upsides: Opportunities in the Shakeup
Massive layoffs create a larger talent pool for those companies that are looking for strong skills. It also means that those newly available developers, marketers, and designers can be available for contract or project work. Our new guy brought extensive experience and knowledge from his previous employer, having actually worked for the developer of our primary environment. We were doggone lucky to get him! If immediate direct employment doesn’t suddenly appear, independent contracting offers other opportunities. Making the move from W-2 work to 1099 work can be a strange experience, but a lot of people have done it, even as a temporary measure. But slower hiring in tech industries might inspire laid-off workers into entrepreneurship, new products, and more creative collaborations they didn’t have time to pursue in a pressure-cooker job.
For everyone who doesn’t work in tech, there can be bonuses as well. When the easy growth years end and layoffs hit, tech platforms have to fight harder to keep the customers they already have. One way they do that is by competing on price—offering discounts, cheaper tiers, or promotional bundles so users don’t cancel or switch. For regular people and businesses, that can show up as sudden deals on software and services, new ‘basic’ plans, or more aggressive upgrade offers from different platforms, all trying to win your subscription.
How to Respond to Tech Layoffs: Practical Steps for Everyone
If you don’t work in the tech industry, this is not the time to think your job is “safe.” There’s a whole new concept called the Disruptor — and the Disruptor disrupts. When you hear or read about any industry undergoing a massive layoff circuit, it’s a signal to pay attention to the broader economic signals. Dig deeper to find out what’s driving such a radical shift. Look at your own industry and find out what skills your company will be looking for in three, six, twelve months. Then, make a plan to get them. Take a look at your professional network and start strengthening the ties you have outside of your company or industry.
If you’re a creative or small business owner/solopreneur, this is an opportunity to look at your revenue streams and marketing channels. What other products or services can you offer to accompany, enhance, or substitute for something you already offer? How do your customers find you, and how do they actually look for services like yours? Check your tech stack and subscriptions. Are there tools you’re paying for that you rarely use? Could you complete those tasks on another tool you already own or use more? You can use this time to lean into those tech offerings that are directly driving revenue and find out how to get the most out of them. This is the 21st century; someone has made a video or course on almost every tool you’re using.
It’s a good time as well, while you’re not in crisis mode, to maximize your “owned audiences.” These include your email list, your website, and Search Engine Optimization (and whatever the next iteration of it looks like) if there are any platforms that are in flux. You’ll never regret having spent the time doing that, whatever the economy looks like.
A Creative Business Owner’s Perspective
I’ve been working in IT for a long time now. I’m also running a media business, concentrating on copywriting and fine art e-commerce. I also have a bachelor’s degree in cybersecurity. We spent a lot of time in class addressing the idea of “risk.” I look at risk now as a factor in nearly everything. We are never without risk. However, we can do a lot of things to minimize the impact of any risk factors. One of those things I’ve done is diversify my income, so that I’m unlikely to ever be completely without income. Along the way, I’ve gained valuable skills and experience in developing and documenting systems and processes, planning content, and building resilience through multiple channels.
Your Turn (and a Book Recommendation)
The decisions of those at the top of tech companies can have trickle-down and ripple-out effects. As a result, not working in tech doesn’t keep us from being affected by those decisions. Staying informed is a risk-management strategy for careers and small businesses. I recommend a book called The Robots Are Coming by John Pugliano. It came out in 2017, and I purchased it right away, having heard about it from his podcast. It’s part handbook and part workbook. In the nine years since its publication, the things I learned from it have proven valuable in staying relevant.
I’d like to hear how you’ve dealt with the changes that these large volumes of technology layoffs have created. What have you changed, what has increased, and what has decreased? What steps do you have in mind for the future? Let me know in the comment section!
My photography shops are https://www.oakwoodfineartphotography.com/ and https://oakwoodfineart.etsy.com, my merch shop is https://www.zazzle.com/store/south_fried_shop.
Check out my New and Featured page – the latest photos and merch I’ve added to my shops! https://oakwoodexperience.com/new-and-featured/
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