“Google confirms it has already fired over 1000 employees in recent weeks, AI reorganisation going on” read a headline in a newsmagazine yesterday.
In the wake of the Covid-19 pandemic, starting early 2020 the business landscape resembled a stormy sea, with waves of uncertainty crashing against the shores of livelihoods. The abrupt loss of employment hit like a thunderclap. The affected souls faced not just the tangible storm of financial stress but also the intangible tempest of shattered happiness. Families were caught in the crossfire, their stability torn apart by the winds of change too sudden to fathom.
A Silver Lining ?
After almost three years, a silver lining in the form of return to normalcy appeared on the horizon. Then like a sudden squall, the year 2023 brought a new tempest, this time with a massive axing of jobs from the tech realm. It was as if the turbulent winds of change refused to let the world find its footing again.
Picture this: as the dust settled from the pandemic upheaval, tech giants, the behemoths of innovation, decided to wield the axe on a colossal scale. The digital titans, the likes of Microsoft, Meta, Google, Amazon, all took a slice from their manpower pie, leaving a staggering 360,000 professionals in the unemployment abyss. The corporate guillotine fell, slashing through 5% to 13% of total staff, turning once buzzing office spaces into echoing chambers of uncertainty. And it is continuing.
The Contradiction
Yet, amid this apparent chaos, something peculiar unfolded. The very companies that swung the downsizing scythe continued to engage in recruitment. It was a contradiction – shedding the old, embracing the new. Skills deemed obsolete were tossed overboard like excess cargo on a tech-savvy ship navigating the stormy seas of industry demands.
The echo of this recurring saga in the tech industry reverberates like a somber melody. A pattern emerges, a rhythm of hiring and firing that plays out every few years. The culprits are the relentless evolution of technology and the corporate cost-cutting crusade. Veteran employees, like seasoned sailors, find themselves cast adrift, replaced by younger, more agile crewmates equipped with the latest digital compass.
Automation and the rise of AI (Artificial Intelligence) further fuel the tech upheaval. Jobs that once required human hands and minds are handed over to the cold, efficient embrace of algorithms. The once essential workers find themselves obsolete, left to drift in the wake of progress.
The Answer
In the aftermath, a resounding truth emerged: the need for proactive career navigation. Like skilled navigators, individuals need to steer their professional ships through the unpredictable waters of the job market. Continuous learning becomes the compass, shielding against the looming clouds of redundancy. Adaptability and the ability to switch professional gears at a moment’s notice are the life jackets in this turbulent sea of uncertainty. Lifelong Learning is the thread to sew these life jackets.
The responsibility to stay relevant, sought after, and employable lies squarely on the shoulders of the individual. In this dynamic dance of industry evolution, the onus is on each person to acquire the skills and knowledge that would ensure they remain not just afloat but masters of their destiny in the ever-changing tides of the job market.
Picture from Stormy Jackets