Tech Helped Make Seattle. Could Industry Layoffs Break It?

Workers who have lost their jobs are people, not statistics.

Two of these Amazon employees are recent college graduates and have been with the company for less than a year.

Ilana Miller is a 23-year-old Seattle resident who joined Amazon in May in St. Louis. After attending the University of Washington in St.

Later in the year, he started hearing rumors of possible layoffs, then received emails surrounding Thanksgiving when he decided to leave the company.

Miller took a package he described as "discreet" and left Amazon in December.

"I'm not angry and I'm not very happy," he said. "I just received it."

Layoffs, he said, "gave me mobility and I'm not stuck," he said, looking for a new job.

Miller works in human resources at Amazon. She is now interviewing for a new job and thinking about going back to school or doing counseling.

"I felt fired so young, it was kind of scary," he said. "I'm not installed."

Due to receiving severance pay, Miller admits that he does not qualify for unemployment.

But the situation is far from bleak. "Now is a good time to do something different," Miller said.

Miller's friend Nick Matthews had been working at Amazon for about six months when he received his termination notice in mid-January.

Matthews, 22, was notified of the dismissal via email but will still be paid until March 20.

"I am not responsible, but they are accusing me," he said.

Matthews graduated from Middlebury College last year and also works in human resources at Amazon.

"I was ready for this," he said he was fired because of all the rumours. "We are the people with the least experience."

He hasn't started looking for a new job yet, paying bills based on his last savings and paycheck. You can also apply for unemployment.

"I really enjoyed working there," he said. "All my colleagues are great."

Many business analysts don't see widespread deaths, even after Seattle companies like Amazon and Microsoft announced thousands of job cuts in January. Boeing, for example, hired about 25,000 new workers last year and next, Vance-Sherman said. This will soften the blow of another layoff.

Boeing Increases 8% in Washington in 2022; With 60,000 employees, it is the second largest employer in the state after Amazon. Microsoft has the third largest workforce, with a workforce similar to that of Boeing.

As a result, said Vance-Sherman, recent layoffs at tech companies have not been reflected in the monthly unemployment forecast. Another reason is that employers may change their minds about some of the announced layoffs and layoff packages may be delayed as people apply for unemployment insurance, he said.

Between February 2020 and last September, computer jobs in the state grew by 27,400 (18%) as telecommuting allowed people to continue working during the COVID-19 pandemic.

"Technology is saving us," says Vance-Sherman.

And it can continue despite news of new releases being announced almost every day.

Unemployment in Washington remains low and employment remains high. "Although the number of jobs has started to decline, there are still many opportunities that are open," he said.

Markham McIntyre, director of the Seattle Economic Development Authority, said the region is much more diverse than it was during the Boeing crash in the 1970s.

"Seattle's economy is resilient," he said. "We have shown that we can withstand boom and bust cycles."

He noted that the region offers many job opportunities in sectors such as healthcare, life sciences, marine manufacturing and construction. He also predicts many technical workers will find new jobs in the region, where they will apply their skills in new fields.

The Washington Council on Economic and Revenue Forecasts is a small agency that produces quarterly forecasts of the state's economic and tax revenue performance. According to director Stephen Lerch, the board's next forecast is in March.

Lerch said one of the problems with forecasting is not knowing exactly when and where technology releases will occur. But one thing is clear, he said: "The tech sector is having a larger-than-average impact on Washington's economy."

Seattle, one of the nation's largest high-tech centers, has experienced a downturn in business. The pandemic has forced many workers to leave their offices and work from home. As a result, the owners of downtown commercial and business buildings are suffering.

Before the pandemic, Seattle was one of the fastest growing cities in the nation, adding more than 128,000 people between 2010 and 2020. That could change as layoff announcements hit real estate.

Amazon has announced plans to vacate its 28-floor office tower in Seattle when its lease expires in April.

The number of Amazon workers in Seattle has increased tenfold since 2010 to more than 50,000, fueling economic growth but also driving up house and rent prices.

"Technology has fueled this growth with such a profound impact on society," said Shulman. "There's uncertainty that [the layoffs] create. Are people going to be spending that much, investing in this area?"

Thousands of jobs were cut in the technology sector