Silicon Valley has lost its sparkle, with laid-off workers choosing stability over the status of working for the biggest names in tech.
For many tech workers, working for the likes of Microsoft, Meta, Google, and Amazon was a dream come true…until the dream came crashing down. As they move on to new opportunities, The Wall Street Journal is reporting that many of those who have been laid off are choosing jobs that emphasize stability over status.
“The majority of folks that have been laid off from big tech companies, they’ve been disillusioned,” said Chris Rice, a partner with Riviera Partners, an executive-search firm.
That disillusionment has given employees new opportunities with other companies, companies that offer them a sense of purpose they didn’t always have at their Big Tech jobs.
“As an engineer, I derive value from doing something useful,” said John Kew, an engineer who worked at Tableau Software. “In particular at a large company, it’s hard to feel that way.”
Smaller companies are benefiting as well, gaining access to a talent pool that would otherwise have been unavailable, snatched up by much larger companies.
“There’s a gold rush to capitalize on those opportunities and be at the forefront,” said Julia Pollak, chief economist with ZipRecruiter.
“They couldn’t compete with tech companies on comp packages for tech employees because they didn’t have the same stock value. That was a huge problem for them,” she added. “Now they’re like, ‘This is wonderful, we can actually hire again.’”
Companies outside the tech industry are similarly benefiting.
“We’re likely looking a little brighter these days than we might have before,” said Donna Morris, chief people officer at Walmart.
“Now, we’re seeing that they’re coming to us,” said Melissa Werneck, Kraft’s global chief people officer, of technology employees. “We’re seeing them knocking more on our doors.”
One thing is clear: The tech industry’s layoffs are having far-reaching consequences and will likely continue reshaping the job market for months and years to come.
