'Important to allow yourself to grieve': Tech layoffs impact nearly 2 lakh employees in 2023

According to layoffs.fyi, which tracks tech layoffs, 687 tech companies have laid off 1,97,837 employees so far in 2023. Here's how some of them are coping...
For representational purpose only.
For representational purpose only.

BENGALURU: From the end of April, many Amazon employees globally have been receiving layoff letters. The mood is dark among them and many others laid off in the great tech cull of 2023.

An Indian Amazon employee in the US, who was laid off in a 15-minute phone call recently, wrote "this tunnel is dark and winding". But with support, he is confident that there is light at the end.

An economist/data scientist with Amazon, the employee was promoted to a senior role in December last year.

"I expressed to my wife that things had been going exceedingly well recently. I joked that things generally turn for the worse at such moments. Funnily enough, exactly three months from that day, I was informed that my role at Amazon was terminated," he wrote on LinkedIn.

"Three years of obsessing over ownership, earning the trust of big thinkers, and removing bias from actions, culminated in a 15-minute phone call that dived deep into frugality," he added.

Indian employees who are laid off and are on H-1B visas need to find another job within 60 days in the US before the grace period ends.

Big tech companies have so far announced two rounds of layoffs due to the uncertainty that exists in the economy, and they have also chosen to streamline costs.

In January, the company had announced that it would eliminate 18,000 jobs. Again, in March, Amazon said it would reduce 9,000 more jobs.

At least 500 employees were eliminated in Amazon India. An Amazon employee from Bengaluru, who was laid off, took to social media and said that she has been struggling to process the layoff news for the past 20 days .

"I have been feeling a range of emotions since then, including grief, anger, and uncertainty. I'm grieving the loss of my job, the relationships I built with my colleagues, and the sense of purpose I felt in my work. I'm also angry at the situation, and I'm feeling uncertain about what the future holds," she said.

After a couple of days, she again wrote on LinkedIn, stressing on the need to grieve after job loss.

"First, it is important to allow yourself to grieve. Losing a job is a major life change, and it is normal to feel a range of emotions, including sadness, anger, and frustration. Second, it is important to reach out for support. Talk to your friends, family, and network. They can offer you support and advice. Third, it is important to stay positive. Focus on your skills and experience. There are many great jobs out there, and you will find one that is a good fit for you," she said.

Many employees have been taking to social media to announce that they have been fired and that they are seeking job opportunities.

A regional product lead in Singapore at Google, who completed her education in Tamil Nadu, was one of the many employees who have been laid off from the company recently.

"It's been three months since the news of the layoffs shook Singapore and I was among the 12k Googlers impacted. As I reflect on my time at Google, these past 15 years have been nothing short of extraordinary. I've been incredibly fortunate to have worked alongside amazing individuals who've truly inspired me. It's been a remarkable journey, and the memories created at Google will always hold a special place in my heart," she wrote on LinkedIn.

Apart from Alphabet and Amazon, Meta, Cisco, Accenture and Cognizant too announced layoffs across its offices.

In January various reports suggested that 80,000 Indian IT professionals in the US have lost their jobs and that a majority of them are on H-1B and L1 visas. As many companies have announced the second round of layoffs, the actual numbers could have been more than 80,000.

According to layoffs.fyi, which tracks tech layoffs, 687 tech companies have laid off 1,97,837 employees so far in 2023.

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