San Francisco tech workers scooter commute
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Tech workers in the San Francisco Bay Area are worried about job security over the next six months, according to a new survey.
Job search database Hired surveyed 2,300 tech workers in the Bay Area, New York, and the UK about compensation and work preferences.
The findings showed that 53% of Bay Area employees say they’re “concerned” or “very concerned” that they’ll be laid off or furloughed in the next six months.
The tech industry has been hit hard in the wake of the coronavirus outbreak, with major Bay Area-based tech firms like Uber, Airbnb, and Lyft conducting layoffs, and several venture-backed startups laying off and furloughing employees since March.
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San Francisco Bay Area tech workers are growing apprehensive about the stability of their jobs.
A new survey by job-search database Hired that evaluated 2,300 tech workers found that 53% of employees in the tech sector in the Bay Area say they’re “concerned” or “very concerned” that they’ll be laid off or furloughed in the next six months. Hired also surveyed tech employees in other regions, finding that 42% of New York respondents and 36% of UK respondents were also concerned about losing their jobs.
Hired theorized that tech workers in the Bay Area are so concerned due to the region’s high concentration of venture-backed companies, which may be more vulnerable in the face of an economic downtown.
The coronavirus outbreak, which hit the Bay Area hard in early March, has impacted several tech companies and startups in the area. Uber, LinkedIn, Airbnb, and Lyft have all laid off employees since March, and several venture-backed tech startups have furloughed or laid off workers in the last few months.
In June, a report from tech firm Visier, which helps companies analyze and optimize their workforces, found that tech has been impacted by the coronavirus crisis in a different way from other industries. Visier found that the big tech companies, many of which are based in the Bay Area, made bigger job cuts and started laying off workers sooner than companies in other industries.
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The study also showed that tech firms continued cutting jobs at high rates after companies in other industries mostly stopped laying off workers.
Given that employee expenses, including payroll, tend to make up a significant portion of tech companies’ costs, those companies are looking to cut some of those costs during the downturn, Ian Cook, Visier’s vice president of people solutions, told Business Insider last month.
“High tech is highly dependent on people,” Cook said. “We know that they’re always quick and careful to manage that cost base.”
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