Layoffs in the tech industry have become one of the many global challenges the industry is currently facing; the US, Asian, and European money markets are inclusive. From declining venture funding for startups to stock market plummeting, to heightened inflation rates, recession fears are holding back global investors from spreading their funds.
State of play
Tech businesses are taking drastic conservative measures to keep their businesses afloat as the economic downturn continues to unravel globally. Unfortunately, trimming staff strengths is one measure international tech companies are adopting.
- The tech industry aggressively hired skilled workers in the years leading up till 2022, mainly because the demand for technology-led products and services grew exponentially post Covid-19.
- However, layoffs have hiked since the economic challenges hit these tech companies worldwide.
By the numbers
Layoffs.fyi, a site that updates layoff figures in the tech industry, recently disclosed that 467 startups around the world laid off about 37,000 employees in the Q2 of 2022. This number is far greater than the 3,000 employees laid off in 2022 for the same period under review. A Reuters report dated September 1st 2022 revealed that US tech companies have so far reportedly fired 14,408 employees. Representing a 70 percent increase on a year-over-year basis. While some companies are firing publicly, others are doing theirs secretly.
The opportunity for African techies
Some of these companies are reportedly trimming their staff due to the operational cost of running a company, including payment of salaries and cost of an on-site office. Skilled African techies present a unique opportunity for these companies as they provide options of remote work and lesser salary expectations for near level experience.
- Again, the tech space is undergoing a massive corporate re-architecting not just because of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, or economic recession, but to birth a new business model of which Africans can strategically position themselves.