With many big tech companies doing layoffs recently, I didn’t think that someone I personally know would be part of the cohort getting the axe. Not until yesterday, when a friend informed me a mutual friend who works at Salesforce, no longer works at Salesforce. She’s doing relatively okay otherwise. The severance is generous, and she’s been diligent with money for a long time. The savings cushion is for precisely these unfortunate moments in life.
I guess I had the impression that people who’ve been with the company for a long time would be safe from the layoff reaper. Which is why I didn’t exactly worry for my friends who was at Salesforce and is at Google (fingers crossed for that friend). I read a tweet recently of a person who got fired from Google after being there for 20 years. These big tech layoffs aren’t simply to cull the massive headcount increase during the pandemic - it’s an opportunity to reevaluate all areas and get leaner.
I’m glad my workplace unionized, so there is some measure of last-in, first-out during times of austerity. Of course, that cuts both ways: under-performers get saved from termination on the virtue of them being with the company for a long time. It’s not a hard rule, however. During the pandemic, our campus had some layoffs, and no one in our IT support department got axed. Which make sense: you don’t get rid of people in the department that is wholly supporting your remote learning effort.
Obviously then the campus did not expand/hire massively during the pandemic - unlike the big tech companies. So I have to think we’re in better shape to handle the supposedly recession headwinds to come. During these times, everybody wishes they have the security of a government job.
Torii.