Big Tech Laid Off Thousands. Heres Who Wants Them Next

Some governments have long tried to attract the best technical specialists and young workers. The gap between the private and public sectors extends beyond the United States. In Britain, public sector wages have fallen to their lowest level in 19 years, making competition from the private sector more difficult. But in China, some young workers are willing to leave the volatile tech industry for safety. The Finnish government was so keen to attract technical specialists to the country's industry that in 2021 it offered foreigners 90-day visas to try life in Helsinki.

More young people may also be considering the move as uncertainty grows amid falling tech stock prices. In response to recent layoffs, US Digital Response held a job fair in December. Ten U.S. state and city governments have come out to protect future workers. According to Matthias Zeim, the state's assistant secretary of state for technology and innovation, the state of California is looking for about 2,500 technical professionals. San Francisco is advertising for government positions that require only one day a week in the office. But beyond benefits, regular hours and pensions, more and more government workers and nonprofits are reporting warm, fuzzy feelings that are having a positive impact. "I think it's a very interesting mission," Virginia CIO Kurt Delben said of his work at the department. "Basically, we're doing everything we can for the privates in the armed forces. And they deserve our support."

Tech Jobs for Good, a job site focused on mission-driven employers, saw a 40% increase in applicant profiles in May, according to founder Noah Hart. Around the same time, Caravana, Klarna and Robinhood started laying off. In October, when other tech companies started to shrink, Profile's sign-ups jumped another 30%, Hart said. "There is a long-standing trend: more and more applicants are looking for influential roles," says Hart. "Many companies are still hiring and getting more applications."

Nonprofits and governments are trying to become more competitive. According to Hart, the average job posted on Tech Jobs for Good earns between $118,000 and $134,000. By comparison, software engineers at Google earn between $98,000 and $330,000, and data scientists between $113,000 and $200,000. The VA is working to close the pay gap between its functions and the private sector by 60%. And for some workers, having influence and working remotely means more than the perks of Silicon Valley and falling stock prices.

Small businesses or industries such as retail and healthcare also benefit from the pool of emancipated technicians. "This creates an incredible opportunity for companies in almost every industry to work with this incredible talent," Leonard Lawson, founder and CEO of Bond Creative mgmt., a management consulting firm, said of the layoff. "Companies that hire technicians who live in the camp will really regret it."

The most active employer will win. Joshua Browder, CEO of DoNotPay, a law firm that specializes in artificial intelligence robots, tweeted in November that he wanted to hire people affected by the layoffs, offering jobs to immigrants and sponsoring visas for those who lost their jobs. Work to stay in the US. . DoNotPay says it had four job offers, but the tweet sent hundreds of applicants. According to Browder, by mid-December, DoNotPay had already made offers to candidates.

"Honestly, I was very surprised that companies would fire them because they are such talented people," Browder said. "I think these companies are making a mistake by being too aggressive in their layoffs." Six months ago, Browder said, he probably would have paid a recruiter hundreds of thousands of dollars to find that kind of talent. Now they get free access to his mailbox.

Amazon, Meta, Netflix: Why Big Tech Companies Are Facing Mass Layoffs WSJ