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New Delhi: Layoffs in the corporate and tech industry have been in the news again in the past few months. Major companies are retrenching staff and India has not been left out of this universal trend. Though the headlines are concentrated on the numbers, the true story continues after the layoffs, when thousands of professionals are left to wonder what to do next.
It is estimated that 35,000 to 60,000 jobs have been affected in the past few months in the Indian corporate and tech ecosystem. Such companies as Oracle, Meta, Microsoft, and Wipro have their share in these numbers in various roles. Oracle alone is estimated to have affected approximately 10,000-12,000 workers in India, and Microsoft has restructured its operations to impact approximately 1,000-1,500 jobs. Other smaller but significant workforce cuts have been experienced at Wipro and others.
This data makes it crystal clear that layoffs are now no longer a one-time event, but a component of a bigger change that can occurs in the employment sector.
The results are diverse approximately 30-40 percent of the professionals affected are able to find new jobs fairly fast, in one to three months. These are generally people possessing skills that are in demand, in particular, such domains as software development, artificial intelligence, cloud computing, and data science. To others, layoffs even become an opportunity and result in a better job or a better career.
Another 3040 percent do get jobs, but only after a more protracted hunt of three to six months-and often at a price. This may imply accepting a reduced salary package, switching to a smaller firm or a startup or even taking up a position that is a regression of their former job. The employment is present, but so may not be the security and progress they previously enjoyed.
Next follows the most difficult segment – about 20-30% of the laid off. These people spend at least six months, and in some cases, they cannot even get a stable job. Others have to change jobs, resort to freelancing or contract work, or even to take a low-paid or even non-technical job just to make ends meet. To them, the effects of a layoff extend well beyond unemployment in the interim – it alters their career trajectory altogether.
This is particularly difficult to the professionals who are over 40 years of age or those whose expertise has not kept up with the quickly changing technology. As the way companies do business evolves with the use of AI and automation, the middle-level positions will become redundant, and elderly workers will be further strained.
Each statistic is accompanied by a personal story, of EMIs to be paid, families to support, and lack of certainty about the future. The emotional and financial pressures may be great, particularly when the job market is not as secure as it used to be.
This round of layoffs is viewed by experts as a structural shift. The present day companies are not preoccupied with recruiting large teams. Rather, focus has moved on recruiting fewer and high skilled people who can adjust to the emerging technologies and provide a greater value.
Simply put, layoffs today are more than merely the issue of job cuts, it is an indicator of change.
There are still opportunities in the modern job market, only they are now more and more available to those who constantly update their skills. It no longer provides stability and career tracks are getting less predictable.
Loss of a job can be front page news. However, the real challenge that many are silently grappling with is to rebuild a career after.
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