We heard a lot about employee lay-offs in the tech industry last year and this year seems to be following the same pattern. I have been reading about the impact of AI and potential loss of jobs in the tech industry in the coming years.
We need to understand that the tech industry is going through a revamp for the first time. It is a new industry, and this is the first time in its evolution it has had to face “difficulty”. For the past 10-15 years the incredible growth allowed it to flourish, money was not a problem, growth was not a problem.
Re-structuring and redundancies are not new. In my 2 decades plus career, I don’t recall a single year where I didn’t see employees being laid off. Many of my friends in other companies lost their jobs. Unfortunately, this is part of the grind. Mature industries have been doing this for decades and its part of the journey.
What matters is how you handle it. I respect the way more traditional industries manage redundancies. Money aside, the process, engagement is respectful, employees given time to process and done in a dignified manner.
Some of what I have read recently with many tech companies has not been. Perhaps it’s part of the learning process for a new industry.
Losing a job is not easy, but what truly makes it worst is how you are let go.
Companies need to take ownership of this. Otherwise stop making a joke about employee engagements, culture and motivations because it clearly doesn’t matter.
