Bethany Crystal
@bethanymarz
I went down a bit of a rabbithole this morning comparing the tech industry layoffs from 2023-25 to the auto industry layoffs of 2005-2009 Some context: My dad was a careerist at Ford Motor Company for 30 years and basically could not recover from the layoffs in 2008 (because he never learned how to change jobs) Today, I'm noticing a similar favor of fear among friends who work at Big Tech companies, many of whom haven't had to think about a new job in 10+ years The thing that is striking to me in both cases is that these layoffs are disproportionately impacting people who chose security or stability over the riskier thing Which means that when these people re-enter the labor market (for the first time in years, if not decades), it's a harder re-calibration. I share more about this in today's post (some charts in casts below) https://hardmodefirst.xyz/what-todays-tech-layoffs-mean-for-the-modern-careerist
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Bethany Crystal
@bethanymarz
I did a little research and found that just 7 of the major auto industry companies were responsible for 166k layoffs during the Great Recession Compare that to today, where just 9 big tech companies have already displaced 170k people (and counting)
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shalin.base.eth
@shalin.base.eth
Love this line “My dad’s generation believed security came from staying put. It seems mine is learning that security comes from staying curious.”
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Sunny 🎩
@sunnydelight
Man, when I graduated college the secure play was going to big tech. As the gen z generation graduates college, the safe play is actually the small startup.
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Steve
@ozmium.eth
The new safe play is job-hopping retail and customer service call centers.
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Johnbullmyson
@johnbullmyson
I think part of the issue is how companies sold “loyalty” as safety. People like your dad were never taught to adapt because the system didn’t reward it. Now, tech folks are learning that lesson too, stability doesn’t mean security anymore, it just delays the shock.
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