Big Tech jobs have lost their glamour

Once the pinnacle of employment, Big Tech is finding its star tarnishing among layoffs and cutbacks. Workers across the industry are questioning their next moves.

Michael says he joined his Big Tech company in spring 2021 to test himself against the best software engineers in the world. “They do some very complicated projects: when you join them, you’re supposedly joining the best. You feel you’re working somewhere that raises your brand value as a person.”

Initially, the move went well. Michael says he got to work on high-impact features, testing his mettle against senior developers. The perks also helped. “It was a typical Big Tech company in that it offered huge benefits, with a great work-life balance,” he says. “Compared to my past employers, it was a breeze: there was free food, wellness expenses and health insurance. And the people were amazing – it was a nice working environment, if at times a little cult-ish.”

But the first sign something was changing came in March 2022. Amid the economic slowdown, the free laundry service was taken away. Soon there were more cuts – the timing of dinners for workers putting in late hours changed, conflicting with the final free shuttle scheduled to leave the New York campus. Employees had to effectively pick between free food and a free ride home. “Folks complained – particularly the younger ones. It was a very pampered place.”

Months later, cuts to perks were followed by cuts to jobs – Michael was one of 11,000 employees let go in November that year, amid a broader tech slowdown and industry-wide layoffs. His next move was to leave Big Tech entirely. He now works in “Big Finance”, for a major investment bank. It’s a job that still offers interesting projects, says Michael, and he feels he has comparatively greater job security. “If you’d have asked me before, I’d have said I’d work for another ‘Faang‘ company next. But there’s a world outside Big Tech.” 

Up until recently, tech roles – particularly among major players such as Meta, Alphabet and Amazon – were often considered some of the most desirable jobs available, offering candidates six-figure salaries, lavish perks and the prospect of being at innovation’s forefront. But since summer 2022, the sector has been rife with cuts, layoffs and uncertainty. In some cases, leaders have also cracked down on remote work, making the return to office a disciplinary issue.

A recovery feels distant. According to industry tracker Layoffs.fyi, 23,670 workers were laid off across 85 tech companies in January 2024 alone, including Microsoft, Amazon, eBay and Google. And it means some workers are beginning to look for jobs outside the sector they once competed to work in. 

Before layoffs, tech companies were more renowned for workplace cultures that serviced employees with free benefits and premium amenities in state-of-the art offices. But gourmet chefs and meditation rooms weren’t introduced just to keep workers on site for as long as possible – they were a means of attracting talent. Scott Dobroski, career trends expert at Indeed, in San Francisco, says candidates – particularly in tech – are attuned to employer branding and company culture. 

This changed following the pandemic. As the economy faltered in spring 2022, rising inflation and interest rates curbed companies’ growth. This initially led to hiring freezes, and then industry-wide layoffs in late 2022, which are ongoing. “Covid-19 was a once-in-a-generation event that changed companies’ trajectories, overestimating demand and sending them into hiring sprees,” says Dobroski. “After coming too strong out the gate in 2021, tech companies had to suddenly pull back their recruitment.”

The tech sector has consequently become less desirable for many workers. According to Indeed’s Best Jobs of 2024. Measured by salary, flexibility and growth, only three in its top 25 are tech roles, versus 11 in its 2023 edition.

“While tech jobs continue to command high salaries and offer above-average levels of flexible working, they’ve fallen significantly in terms of growth,” says Dobroski. “Job seekers typically want to join companies that are flourishing, in which they feel they can grow. But when layoffs are announced, that doesn’t only reduce opportunities to move in the job market – it harms employers’ reputations and signals uncertainty.”

It’s not just job seekers put off by tech roles. Current employees in the industry report feeling disenchanted.

Alessandra works for a blockchain technology firm in London. She says she chose tech as her career when she first stepped into her employer’s corporate headquarters as an intern. “I was wowed by the office – it made it feel as though tech was the place to be. It was its fast-paced and innovative nature that stood out most to me: as though I could be part of something new.”

Like many in the sector, Alessandra’s firm has been impacted by the tech slowdown. By February 2023, one of its blockchain product offerings was closed. Layoffs have continued ever since – her team has now been slashed fivefold. Employees are also mandated to be in the office three days a week – or face the consequences. “My day alternates from being super intense when it seems things are ‘taking off’, to long periods of doing absolutely nothing,” she says. 

Her disillusionment extends beyond her company and to the industry itself. “It’s seemingly luck whichever part of tech you fall in. Right now, AI is taking off, so everyone else feels like they’re getting left behind. It’s not just my company: the market itself doesn’t know what it needs to do to succeed, or where it’s headed. I no longer feel inspired, or that ‘buzz’ when I first stepped into the office.”

Dobroski believes that excitement for jobs in the tech sector will only return once the economy fully recovers, layoffs end and companies recommence hiring en masse.

Until then, only certain roles remain coveted. “History has shown that when there’s job growth, that’s the signal there are opportunities for job seekers,” he says. “For now, there are areas within the industry that are still very attractive to tech talent, such as AI teams among both Big Tech and start-ups.”

Although he’s left the industry, Michael says he’d still work for a Big Tech firm in the future. “The benefits are great, and you’re driven to work on big problems you can one day point to and say, ‘I developed that’. The glory days will be back: a couple of years post-economic downturn and it’ll be back to 2021. Tech talent is always going to be in short supply.”

But for now, many tech workers are beginning to look elsewhere. “Most of my colleagues feel the same way: we’re working towards something that’s going nowhere,” says Alessandra. “And after seeing so many close colleagues suddenly be made redundant, or quit as a result, we’ve lost faith in what we’re trying to achieve. Most of us are planning our exit strategies from the company – and some even from the industry.”

The BBC is withholding Michael and Alessandra’s surnames for job-security concerns