Silicon Valley created everything the world needed when the pandemic was in full swing, including testing kits, medical records software, and virtual meeting platforms. And with it, the technology industry's hiring fever has increased.
But after the coronavirus subsided and the Bay Area began adjusting to a post-pandemic world, many tech workers began losing their jobs. Santa Clara County workers have been hit hard.
Approximately 16,800 technology employees have been laid off since July 2021 due to unprecedented hiring during the pandemic, according to a San Jose Spotlight analysis of company-reported termination notices required by state law. is said to have been fired. The Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification (WARN) system requires companies with 100 or more employees to report when issuing a redundancy notice. Data is current as of February 7th.
Russell Hancock, CEO of Joint Venture Silicon Valley, a regional consortium of government and business leaders, said that when Silicon Valley's export demand soared during the pandemic, companies' hiring increased the region's market value. The total amount has soared to an unprecedented $16 trillion.
“Then the pandemic starts to recede,” Hancock told San Jose Spotlight. “And we're actually at the point where we're declaring the pandemic over. The demand for the same was tapering off. And continued growth was not possible.”
Between March 11, 2020, when the COVID-19 pandemic was officially declared, and June 2021, there were more than 4,880 technology layoffs in Santa Clara County. The following year saw a significant drop, with just 750 technical layoffs between July 2021 and June 2022, reflecting the explosive growth in the business sector.
But a dramatic shift occurred the following year, with the state recording more than 9,000 tech layoffs in Santa Clara County between July 2022 and June 2023.
Diagnostic companies such as Sunnyvale-based Cepheid, which distributed virus test kits, and Google, Microsoft and Facebook parent company Metaplatforms, among others, for what Hancock described as a pivot to industry efficiency. Major internet engines also felt the blow.
The rise of a remote and hybrid culture on the other side of the pandemic has lessened the need for all the perks and upscale campus cafeterias that Silicon Valley companies have become famous for, Hancock said.
“Companies are saying, 'If we operate more efficiently, we can increase returns to shareholders during this interim stage,'” Hancock told San Jose Spotlight.
California recorded an additional 6,800 layoffs in Santa Clara County from July 2023 through the first week of February. The lower number reflects the fact that the state has three months left in its current layoff reporting period.
Mr Hancock acknowledges that recent job cuts are significant, but stops short of viewing them as a crisis.
“Silicon Valley's workforce is about 1.5 million people. So if you think about the recent layoffs, compared to the dot-com crash of 2000, you'll see that it's actually a very small percentage.” Hancock told San Jose Spotlight. “It would be a mistake to call this a crisis. We need to call it something else: a recalibration.”
Local economist Chuck Cantrell wonders where that readjustment is happening. He said there are gaping holes in layoff data reported to the state, largely because the state requests too little information.
Specifically, Cantrell wonders how many people of color are among the laid-off workers.
In December, Cantrell released a nine-minute video that put a startling spotlight on the racist social structures and business cycles that disproportionately punish African Americans in expensive Silicon Valley.
“African-Americans are consistently the last people hired by companies. This kind of basic HR system, which appears fair from a distance, results in us being the least experienced and the first to be fired.” “It will be,” Cantrell said. San Jose Spotlight. “It's been that way structurally for a while. But when you start to break down these numbers, you see that this is more consistent in some groups and less consistent in others.”
Researchers are trying to pull back the curtain on data on engineer layoffs. Last year's San Jose State University annual report found that women accounted for 47% of technology layoffs from September to December 2022, even though women make up 39% of the tech workforce. was.
Cantrell said it's also a habit that technology companies often hire brown people as contractors.
“These people are fired very quickly because they don't meet the WARNING Act standards. They're never pursued,” Cantrell said. “That would make it easier to see this pattern overall.”
Contact Brandon Pho. [email protected] or @brandonphooo on X (previously known as Twitter).
