Tech Layoffs: A Boon For Other Working Sectors

The year 2023 started with tech layoffs making headlines, and in recent months, the industry has seen a significant number of job cuts following difficult microeconomic conditions.

Industry giants like Google, Amazon, Meta and Microsoft have collectively laid off more than 1,50,000 workers with the backdrop of recession risks globally. Rising inflation, geopolitical tensions, overzealous hiring amidst the pandemic are some of the estimated reasons making the ‘IT layoffs’ the new normal.

The tech industry has seen a string of massive layoffs and still continues with the fresh rounds of cuts impacting thousands of employees. According to TechCrunch, the 2023 tech layoffs reported a total count of 1,58,314. The layoffs amounted to 84,714 in January, 36,491 in February and 37,109 March.

While the yellow memos have been the go-to cost-cutting strategy for the technology companies’, reports suggest that the scenario is completely different among other working sectors. Companies in industries such as Pharmaceutical, Healthcare, F&B, Hospitality, Automobile, e-Commerce, Education, Retail and many others are leaving no stone unturned in utilising skilled ‘IT Talent’ for their progress.

According to some reports, the tech biggies’ "action of correction" has proved to be an opportunity for other sectors to snatch up prime technology talent. The expanding array of software and IT services, the introduction of AI, robotic process automation (RPA), physical robots, digital payment and communication, CRM systems and a host of other reasons are the speculated reasons behind every other company’s tech hiring growth trend.

Out of the 20 top job titles, 15 account for tech workers - despite the reported layoffs in the second half of 2022, according to an industry report.

As the non-IT companies leverage the laid-off human capital, here is a quick sneak peek at what experts suggest:

According to Sumit Sabharwal, CEO of Teamlease HRtech, the changing consumer demand has reduced the workforce in many tech companies, however, amidst this hard time, many other companies are experiencing rapid growth and require skilled and experienced professionals to maintain their momentum. Such companies are, thus, benefiting from the current influx of newly available talent in the market by filling their technical roles with highly skilled and experienced employees. 

He said, with AI-enabled Applicant Tracking Systems, chatbots, HCM platforms for personalised employee engagement, and other such tools, these companies are streamlining their recruitment and retention processes to build a strong and motivated workforce. 

Sabharwal further emphasised that these technologies are also empowering HR professionals to make data-driven decisions and create an engaging workplace culture that fosters employee growth and development. With the help of HR technology, companies can attract and retain top talent while providing the best employee experience.

Meanwhile, Pratik Gauri, co-founder and CEO, 5ire, stressed economic conditions to be the prime reason for the major tech cuts. He emphasised the auto industry’s role in repeating itself in the IT job market.

Gauri said the roles mostly being cut are those in recruiting, HR, marketing, and sales. “The dedicated tech roles are yet to be touched at the moment.” 

He underlined India can follow in the footsteps of the US, wherein the country is looking at IT layoffs as a boon and the government and companies of America are seizing the moment to catch the attention of out-of-work technologists.

On the other hand, Sashi Kumar, Head of Sales, Indeed India is still optimistic about tech companies’ future and said, “Overall the year will continue to see tech roles hire the most. India is seeing steady and stable growth and the short-term impact of recession and layoffs are not likely to impact the future of tech roles in India. With increasing investment in IT and the adoption of new-age emerging technologies, job roles in these areas will also see a rise this year”.