Layoffs Galore: The Tech Bubble Receives a Shake Up
With all the talk of the financial turmoil that the U.S. economy is experiencing, some industries are hoping that they can escape the heat unscathed. In fact, a small portion of the tech industry practically bragged that they wouldn't encounter the same damage as Wall Street by attempting to recruit jobless stock brokers for their start-ups. This week may have put the tech industry on alert with the rest of the U.S. as two relatively high profile tech companies made grand changes to their staff.
Fast Company Lays Off 20
We don't think the sky is falling, but there may be an earthquake on the horizon as the tech industry begins to feel the economic turbulence. Best known in some circles for hiring Robert Scoble for the Fast Company TV online site, Mansueto Ventures is laying off 20 of their employees in their online and marketing department.
Other cuts the company will make include:
As to why the such measures are being taken, it is being reported:"
"CEO John Koten said in a staff memo that despite Fast Company's growth, expenses were rising faster than revenue as the publishing industry business has softened."
Seesmic Lays Off 7
On a smaller scale, video-commenting startup Seesmic will also layoff several of its employees. In order to prepare for "what most are anticipating to be a bleak economic outlook for the considerable time going forward," Seesmic CEO Loic Le Meur will cut 7, or 1/3, of Seesmic's employees. Allen Stern noted that this will be in addition to 3 employees that were let go last month.
What's Next?
While these companies will still move forward with their products and services, we can't help but wonder if more layoffs will be seen in the future and from who. We certainly hope the tech industry doesn't see too much news like this future, but there's no denying these situations as fair warnings that the tech industry is not as invincible as it seems.
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Oh...This is socking news... 5 days back Robert Scoble blogged about opening in Fast Company and was giving tips on resume writing : http://scobleizer.com/2008/10/05/need-a-job-resume/
and not firing people ???
Posted by: Kevin | October 11, 2008 11:25 AM
Whenever there is a major downturn in the economy there are always people that think it won't effect them. But, sooner or later, it will effect everyone.
Tech people seem to have their head in the sand more than others when it comes to this type of thing.
Posted by: Potato Chef | October 11, 2008 2:51 PM
Prepare for consolidation as cash rich companies gobble up smaller players. A downturn means lots of bargains for the strong.
Posted by: Don Draper | October 11, 2008 3:25 PM
I still see thousands of internet, media, advertising and other jobs posted on employment sites.
www.linkedin.com (networking)
www.indeed.com (aggregated listings)
www.realmatch.com (matches you to jobs)
good luck to those searching for jobs.
Posted by: Matthew | October 11, 2008 6:33 PM
The high-tech industry has not yet fully recover from the last bubble and now is possiblly facing another downturn:-(
We think the best way to prepare for a potential downturn is to cut your operating cost as much as possible, and of course find more revenue streams.
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Posted by: HappyTutors.com - Connect Tutors with Students & Parents | October 12, 2008 1:31 PM
Who cares what's next.
Posted by: Henrietta Chickenshit | October 12, 2008 5:09 PM
RWW folks
Thanks for this coverage, I'm going to track all the layoffs in the social media space from this blog post
http://www.web-strategist.com/blog/2008/10/10/layoffs-in-the-social-media-space/
Posted by: Jeremiah Owyang | October 13, 2008 5:35 AM