The REALITY of Tech Jobs in 2025 | EM Marathon

Free food, recreational facilities, a $2,000 annual travel stipend, and even coverage for gender affirmation surgeries for employees. These are just some of the lavish benefits that tech giants like Google, Netflix, Airbnb, and Pandora use to offer their workers. But it seems this has come to an end. Google, Amazon, and Snap are among the companies continuing to downsize. From eBay to Google and now SAP, it's been a brutal January for thousands of local tech workers. This week alone, about a dozen major companies announced job cuts. The layoffs in technology just keep coming. The latest, Google cutting hundreds of jobs. 18,000 employees will be let go almost twice as many as Amazon was planning. Other companies announcing layoffs so far this year include BlackRock, Universal Music Group, Duolingo, and the messaging platform Discord. So far in 2024, about 75,000 tech workers have been laid off. And this number is increasing. So why is working for a big tech company no longer a dream job? In recent decades, the tech industry has been synonymous with innovation, explosive growth, and extraordinary benefits for its employees. These companies not only transformed their respective fields, but also redefined the employment expectations of an entire country. We reported last week that Fortune Magazine has named Google the best company to work for in America again. Number one is Google. And they've been number one before. They were number one last year. They continue to make Google a great place to work. This era, often referred to as the golden age of technology, marked a period of optimism and unprecedented expansion. However, recent changes in the global economy and the very nature of the industry have meant that working for a tech giant is no longer what it used to be. There's no question artificial intelligence will remake the workplace. Artificial intelligence could replace millions of jobs. AI could replace 300 million full-time jobs. After the financial crisis of 2008, the U.S. Federal Reserve slashed interest rates to near-zero levels, keeping them there for years. This low-cost capital environment allowed both tech startups and established giants to expand rapidly. Netflix, for example, saw its stock value increase by over 4,000% during this decade. It was on this day back then when the company posted the highest first-quarter profit in its thin eight-year history. For 25 years, one company changed the landscape of film and TV forever, with revenue and subscriber base growing a whopping average of more than 30% a year. Today, it boasts about 270 million paid subscribers and rakes in more than $30 billion in revenue a year. The widespread adoption of smartphones and social media, along with easy access to venture capital, created fertile ground for innovation and growth. The tech-heavy Nasdaq reflected this expansion with an astounding approximate increase of 347% from 2010 to 2019. However, companies were not the only beneficiaries. Working at one of these tech companies became a way to get rich. Employees often received a significant portion of their compensation in stock options. As tech stocks rose, workers increasingly enriched themselves. In 2020, the top 350 CEOs in the U.S. made over $24 million on average. CareerSite compiled a list of America's 15 highest-paying companies, but tech companies dominated the list with nine of the 15 places, including Netflix at number two and Google at 13. However, the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic marked a turning point for the industry. Initially, many tech companies benefited from an approximately 125% increase in demand for digital services and software as people stayed home and remote work peaked. More than 44 million Americans have filed for unemployment since mid-March, when the coronavirus pandemic forced many people to stay home. But despite the ongoing economic turmoil and increased number of businesses shutting down, the country's five biggest tech companies are growing and investing in the future. But the prolonged impact of the pandemic, along with rising interest rates in 2022, began to erode the stability of this sector. Layoffs became a common strategy to maintain profitability in the face of fluctuating demand and rising operational costs. Giants like Google, Microsoft, and fintech startups such as Block and PayPal implemented significant workforce reductions of around 35%. Indeed, more and more companies have adopted efficiency as a common mantra in recent earnings calls. For example, a memo sent by Elon Musk to the staff at X detailed that the company would cut more than 10% of its global workforce. Thousands of Twitter employees are being laid off as Elon Musk overhauls the company. A new chapter has begun at Twitter, and for half the people who work there, they will not be part of it. It's a Twitter bloodbath. Nearly 4,000 fired in one fell swoop. Half the global workforce. Apple was the first major company to begin layoffs due to the shutdown of its autonomous car project, laying off about 600 specialized workers. This was followed by companies like Amazon, which is cutting about 5% of jobs in its cloud computing division. Although massive layoffs in technology continue to dominate the headlines, according to the government, the labor market remains strong with an unemployment rate dropping to 3.8%. According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, the U.S. economy added 303,000 jobs in March, well above the Dow Jones estimate of an increase of 200,000. The U.S. economy remained strong enough last month to create 263,000 new jobs. The unemployment rate fell to 3.5%, but that was after the labor force shrank. Americans are worried about their job security despite continued historically low unemployment. According to a new study from MarketWatch, a full 70% of employees are bracing for layoffs in some way. A popular free job posting site for college students and graduates showed that job applications from technology students sent to internet and software companies fell by more than 30% between November 2021 and September 2023, while the proportion of applications sent to government jobs grew by 112%. Continuous layoffs and economic uncertainty have altered the perception of the tech industry as a field of secure opportunities and steady growth. With 25% of Americans saying that the tech sector is no longer stable, the future of work in tech companies is now perceived as an industry susceptible to the same challenges as any other sector. For a long time, these tech companies felt like almost the safest place to work. Employees were well looked after, well compensated, great perks, and suddenly that's been turned on its head. Although the prestige of working in a tech company remains a factor to consider, recent layoffs and market volatility have led many to reconsider their career options, seeking stability in sectors like government or in industries less susceptible to rapid economic fluctuations. As we move forward, the tech industry faces a period of introspection and recalibration. While the days of generous benefits may have waned, the sector continues to offer significant growth promise for those willing to navigate its challenges. With a compound annual growth rate of 5%, the tech sector remains an attractive job opportunity for Americans. If we spoke to any college kid today, they would love to work at Google. Technology continues to be a field of vital importance, central to innovation and progress in almost every aspect of modern life. The challenge for big tech companies is not simply to return to the days of rapid growth, but to maintain their relevance and appeal in a world that increasingly values sustainability, ethics, and stability. Open AI, inflection, adept, and character AI are just a few of the tech startups that giants have absorbed in 2024. Microsoft absorbs inflection. The big organizational change happening at Microsoft around AI. Microsoft is to boost its investment in chat GPT maker Open AI. Amazon consumes adept. Most of the company is now going to Amazon. The problem is, none of these startups have been purchased. However, tech giants are using their technology, resources, and even their workers to gain massive profits. Three of the biggest tech companies swallowing three of the biggest startups in the AI world without actually acquiring them. So how tech giants are using workers to monopolize AI, and how does this affect the labor market? Since the rise of artificial intelligence in 2023, the most promising startups are being absorbed by the tech giants. However, there is a problem. These startups were not formally acquired, but rather pseudo-acquired. For example, Microsoft paid $650 million to access inflection's talent. Amazon shelled out $330 million for adept's technology. And Google managed to integrate the founders of character AI without the need for an acquisition. The result? Megacorporations are monopolizing AI while regulators struggle to keep up. Regulatory concerns heating up for the big tech giants. The U.S. federal court ruled on August 5th that Google has an illegal monopoly. AI is controlled by one or two or three corporations that are basically governments unto themselves. Character AI is a generative AI startup that has grown rapidly since its founding. Character.ai launched its software last September and has had more than 173 million visits last month, In September of last year, it launched its software, and by last month it had accumulated more than 173 million visits, representing a 61% increase since March. Despite its loyal user base and its $1 billion valuation, the company struggled to generate sufficient revenue, leading to the need to seek alternatives. This pattern has been observed in several AI startups, where the initial focus is on user growth before monetizing the product. Instead of acquiring the startup, Google opted for a deal that allowed it to access key talent from Character.ai, such as its co-founder Noam Shazir, one of the pioneers of generative AI. The Google Cloud CEO announced a partnership with Character.ai to help make its chatbots even more sophisticated and accurate. Shazir, along with one-fifth of Character.ai's staff, returned to Google, and the startup's technology was licensed without the need for a formal acquisition. This type of agreement not only allows Google to benefit from Character.ai's innovation, but also avoids the regulatory scrutiny that could accompany a full acquisition. Another example of these pseudo-acquisitions is the deal between Amazon and Adept.ai. Adept is a startup valued at over a billion dollars that developed advanced AI technologies. In June, Amazon and Adept.ai struck a deal. Amazon reportedly paid at least $330 million to license Adept's technology, with a $100 million retention bonus to employees who jumped ship. This deal not only allowed Amazon to access Adept's technology, but also its valuable employees, particularly AI researchers. A key factor that makes this type of agreement attractive to startups is the high cost of the technological resources needed to develop generative AI models. Graphics processing units, or GPUs, in cloud computing are essential but expensive. This is where Amazon, with its cloud services platform, plays a crucial role by providing access to the infrastructure these startups need to continue developing their technology. The agreement between Microsoft and Inflection is another example of how large tech companies are using this approach to gain a competitive edge. Inflection AI has folded their core business and their top leadership. Microsoft hired the two principals from a startup called Inflection AI, which it had previously invested in. Inflection, co-founded by Mustafa Suleyman in 2022, developed a chatbot similar to ChatGPT. Microsoft signed a $650 million deal that did not involve a direct acquisition, but it did allow the company to access Inflection's AI models and hire most of its key staff. What is interesting about these deals is that they provide an exit for startups facing difficulties in generating revenue, while allowing megacorporations to avoid the regulatory scrutiny associated with traditional acquisitions. OpenAI, the company that created ChatGPT, was also affected by the sued acquisitions. Microsoft bought as much of OpenAI's for-profit arm as it could without actually taking ownership. And OpenAI probably liked that setup because it kept them in control, but it also worked really well for Microsoft. Why? Well, there's far, far, far less regulatory oversight of minority investments than takeovers. If Microsoft had wanted to buy OpenAI, regulators from around the world might have called foul. However, they also raise questions about the impact on competition. These transactions allow large corporations to capture the talent needed in the AI arms race without facing the same levels of oversight as a full merger or acquisition. Venture capitalists, or VCs, who initially funded startups like Character AI, Adept, and Inflection, are also affected by these deals. Although many of them are compensated through licensing agreements, the returns they receive fall far short of their original expectations. VCs usually expect returns of 5 to 10 times their investment, but in these cases, it is unlikely that licensing deals will offer those returns. One of the less discussed aspects of these deals is their impact on the employees of startups who are not part of the deal. In the case of Adept, for example, Amazon only hired the AI researchers, while product teams, sales, and other areas were not as fortunate. This creates inequalities among employees, where some are absorbed by the megacorporations and receive benefits, while others are left struggling to rebuild a new business without their best talent. Tech giants may be dodging regulatory scrutiny for now, but regulators are not completely oblivious to these maneuvers. The FTC has issued Microsoft a subpoena for more information about those AI deals. The Department of Justice and the Federal Trade Commission are in now the final stages of a deal to divide up antitrust inquiries into NVIDIA, Microsoft, and OpenAI, several of the most dominant players in the rapidly emerging AI space. The FTC, or Federal Trade Commission, has already begun investigating the deal between Microsoft and Inflection, and it has also opened an informal investigation into the deal between Amazon and Adept. Additionally, the U.S. Congress has taken note of these moves, with three senators calling for a deeper investigation. The main challenge for regulators is determining whether these deals are anti-competitive. Although these are not full acquisitions, the impact of these partnerships on the market can be significant. The primary concern is that these large corporations are amassing so much power and talent that they could limit competition and innovation in the AI space. Secretary Yellen is warning about what she calls significant risks associated with the use of AI by financial companies. Yellen was talking really in detail for the first time about what she sees as vulnerabilities stemming from using AI in finance. The rise of pseudo-acquisitions reflects a new strategy used by megacorporations to avoid regulatory scrutiny while gaining access to cutting-edge talent and technology. The cases of Google, Amazon and Microsoft with startups like Character AI, Adept and Inflection demonstrate how these large companies are using strategic agreements to solidify their position in the AI arms race. Artificial intelligence consumes exorbitant amounts of energy. AI surges, so too is the carbon footprint of AI firms. The AI boom is putting a big strain on the U.S. power grid. We're building an enormous infrastructure for artificial intelligence that is extremely energy and water intensive. It is estimated that in the coming years, AI could represent up to 1% of global energy consumption. These industries are massive energy consumers. The current AI boom could see an increase in demand for electricity soar by 40%. From virtual assistants to recommendation systems, AI is integrating into every aspect of our lives. AI is everywhere. Google Search, Facebook, YouTube's recommendations. TikTok. Over the past decade, we've become surrounded by AI systems that perceive our worlds, that support our decisions and that mimic our ability to create. This has forced tech giants to look for more efficient energy sources, though they are not necessarily environmentally friendly. So how tech companies are going nuclear and how this impacts global energy consumption. In the last decade, the world has witnessed an unprecedented technological transformation driven by artificial intelligence. This revolution has brought a world of possibilities, but the exponential growth of AI also presents a critical challenge. Its energy demand. Each time a query is made to an AI model like ChatGPT, it consumes significantly more energy resources than performing a search on Google or any other common browser. The AI revolution is reshaping our world at breakneck speed. The possibilities seem endless, but are actually being limited by one very important thing. Electricity. One ChatGPT query takes nearly 10 times as much energy as a typical Google search and as much energy as keeping a 5 watt LED bulb on for an hour. According to a recent study, AI usage could lead to energy consumption levels comparable to that of entire countries such as Argentina. According to the International Energy Agency, data center electricity consumption is expected to double by 2026, reaching the same level as Japan, the fourth highest energy consuming country in the world. This increase represents a challenge not only for companies, but also for power infrastructures worldwide. Major tech companies like Google, Microsoft and Amazon have started taking steps to secure their access to the necessary energy. Desperate for power, AI companies look to the nuclear option. This Wednesday, Amazon said it would invest $500 million in nuclear power. They have revealed plans to buy electricity from nuclear power plants. In response to this growing demand, many companies are turning their attention to nuclear energy. In March, Google acquired a nuclear data center in Pennsylvania and Microsoft signed an agreement to reactivate the Three Mile Island Nuclear Power Plant, the site of the worst nuclear accident in U.S. history. It was the first step in a nuclear nightmare. The breakdown in an atomic power plant in Pennsylvania today is probably the worst nuclear reactor accident to date. It happened at the number two generator about four o'clock this morning. Something caused the secondary cooling system to fail. It shut off the reactor, but heat and pressure built up and some radioactive steam escaped into the building housing the reactor and eventually out into the plant and the air. Additionally, Google has plans to build seven small nuclear reactors, which are expected to be operational by 2035. This trend indicates a significant shift in public perception regarding nuclear energy, which has been feared and controversial since the Chernobyl and Fukushima disasters. A recent survey showed that support for nuclear energy is at its highest level in over a decade, especially among millennials and Generation Z. These demographics appear to be more open to nuclear energy, partly due to a lesser association with the risk of nuclear accidents. As concerns about climate change intensify, nuclear energy presents itself as a viable option Despite its potential, nuclear energy is not without challenges. Building nuclear plants is costly and can face significant delays. New technologies, such as small modular reactors, still require regulatory approval. However, prominent figures in the tech sector like Bill Gates and Sam Altman are investing in nuclear initiatives, suggesting renewed industry interest in nuclear energy as a long-term solution. I think we're going to get nuclear fusion to work in the next few years, and importantly, not just as a scientific demonstration, but as incredibly cheap energy and at global scale. Moreover, combining nuclear energy with other renewable sources, such as solar and wind, can offer a more balanced approach. The Biden administration has taken a proactive approach to clean energy, including nuclear power, as part of its strategy to combat climate change and reduce carbon emissions. By promoting a diverse technology portfolio that integrates nuclear energy alongside renewable sources like solar and wind, the administration aims to ensure a stable and sustainable energy supply. Nuclear energy, with its ability to produce large amounts of electricity without emitting greenhouse gases, is seen as a crucial component for achieving the administration's ambitious climate goals. The nearly 100 nuclear reactors across the United States For the country to meet the goals President Joe Biden has set for greenhouse gas emissions... Take nuclear power, the biggest source of clean energy. It employs over 60,000 workers, including many of you. The key to meeting the goal of 100% clean power agreed by 2035 depends a lot on it. That's why we're keeping existing plants open, restarting shutter plants, and building America's first new nuclear plants in decades. This strategy is crucial for meeting emission reduction targets and ensuring a sustainable energy supply for the future. In the recent technological revolution, a major question arises. How to achieve a balance between energy needs and sustainability in relation to AI and energy consumption? As tech companies continue to develop new AI capabilities, pressure on power grids will increase. Projections indicate that if AI were adopted worldwide, current energy systems would not be able to support the load. With the rise of AI, there is also an anticipated increase in electric vehicle usage and cryptocurrency mining, further driving up energy demand. For the first time, more than 5% of all cars sold in America are all electric. Electric vehicle sales have been rising for several years, and the demand is growing as gas prices skyrocket. Tech companies are not only seeking to secure their own energy capacity, but are also exploring opportunities to become energy providers for other companies, creating a secondary market around nuclear energy. As AI continues to evolve, so do innovations in energy production and distribution. The possibility of using AI to optimize real-time energy use could be a game-changer. AI-powered energy management systems could forecast and manage energy demand more efficiently, thus reducing the pressure on existing infrastructures. Companies like OpenAI are exploring the potential of integrating artificial intelligence into the energy sector, creating a feedback loop where AI not only consumes energy, but also helps generate and distribute it more efficiently. Although artificial intelligence consumes a lot of energy to train, it also saves a lot of energy when you consume it. Because ultimately, it's not about training the model, it's about using the model. And whether it's in healthcare or climate technology, or just running the power grid, artificial intelligence has the opportunity to really save a ton of energy. The growth of these technologies presents serious energy challenges that cannot be ignored. As technology advances, it will be crucial to find a balance between technological growth and environmental preservation, ensuring that the digital revolution does not become an energy crisis. How we respond to this challenge will determine the success of AI and energy sustainability in the coming decades. Nearly 428,000 tech workers have been laid off in the past two years. Amazon is cutting hundreds of jobs. Tesla has laid off thousands of employees. Google has announced another round of layoffs. Layoffs in technology just keep coming. The latest, Google cutting hundreds of jobs. In 2024 alone, 384 tech companies have laid off more than 124,000 employees. Americans are worried about their job security. A full 70% of employees are bracing for layoffs in some way. These mass layoffs have had a significant impact on the job market. But where did all these laid off tech workers go, and how are they transforming the job market? The tech sector is known for its boom and bust cycles, a volatility that has been particularly evident in recent years. Tech sector volatility causing the fortunes of some tech billionaires to change dramatically. The basket of tech stocks lost $652 billion in market cap just on Monday alone. The elimination of over 386,000 jobs in 2022 and early 2024 marked a historic moment, representing one of the worst tech crises of the past century. The collapse of Silicon Valley Bank, overhiring after the pandemic, and unprecedented interest rate hikes were just a few of the factors that triggered this crisis. But one factor in particular is reshaping the labor landscape, not just in tech but for every job done by humans. Artificial intelligence. AI is replacing human tasks faster than you might think. Artificial intelligence may play a role in how Google is restructuring. Artificial intelligence is going to transform our lives, but will it be for the better or worse? Amazon, Meta, and Alphabet all began heavily investing in AI at the same time they were forced to significantly reduce their workforces after experiencing unprecedented growth during the pandemic. This graph shows the number of hires and layoffs before, during, and after 2019. Under the leadership of Mark Zuckerberg, for instance, Meta laid off more than 11,000 employees in November 2022, representing about 13% of its workforce. But this trend quickly spread to other tech giants. Amazon announced the elimination of 18,000 jobs in January 2023, and Alphabet laid off 12,000 workers, about 6% of its workforce, by the end of the same year. According to top executives from these companies, these decisions, though painful, were necessary to adjust the bloated structures of firms that had rapidly expanded without considering the possible consequences. Some of those projects have been closed or pulled back or narrowed. And so companies that hired a lot during the pandemic are just finding they don't need as many people. The mass layoffs had a profound impact on tech workers. Despite companies like Google and Salesforce offering generous severance packages to soften the blow, uncertainty about the future has been a constant for many. For example, Google provided 16 weeks of salary plus two additional weeks for every year of employment to laid-off workers in the U.S., while Salesforce guaranteed nearly five months of pay to affected employees. Although the unemployment rate in the tech sector was 2% in May 2024, significantly lower than the national rate of 4%, competition for tech jobs is fierce. Many laid-off employees have struggled to find new opportunities, but women have been disproportionately affected by recent layoffs. Although two-thirds of tech workers are men, more than half of those laid off in 2022 and 2023 were women, according to a study that analyzed over 1,100 LinkedIn profiles. The groups most affected by layoffs include HR professionals, software engineers, and marketing employees, whose tasks were mainly replaced by artificial intelligence and robots. Hiring is undergoing a revolution. This is Vera, a robot that does job interviews. She's done 10,000 of them and counting. While the tech sector faces mass layoffs, the artificial intelligence market is booming. In the first quarter of 2024, generative AI startups announced or closed deals worth over $12 billion, compared to $4.5 billion invested in 2022. Companies like Amazon, Alphabet, and Microsoft have made large investments in AI, which could be one of the factors contributing to recent layoffs. However, according to major tech firms, generative AI is expected to add between $2.6 trillion and $4.4 trillion annually to the global economy in the coming years, suggesting the net impact on employment could be positive. Generative AI generating opportunity in the labor market, with job postings climbing 6,000 percent this year. At the same time, while machines are growing, a greater number of new jobs are going to be created, predicting that robots will displace 75 million jobs over the next four years, but create 133 million new ones. Some CEOs of AI-developing companies predict a net increase in employment in the tech industry. Founders like Crivello, CEO of Landy AI, a company that automates daily tasks, argue that when something becomes cheaper, such as AI, its complement, in this case, tech workers, becomes more valuable. Additionally, job opportunities for software developers are expected to grow by 26 percent between 2021 and 2031. Despite the layoffs, the tech sector is showing signs of recovery. While 4,700 jobs were cut in the industry in May 2024, new opportunities were created in IT services, cloud infrastructure, data processing, hosting, and tech manufacturing, sectors where many laid-off tech workers have ended up. As major companies like Meta, Google, Salesforce, and more cut thousands of jobs, other companies, some smaller, some in different sectors, were eager to bring in new talent. Abbott, for example, has hired more than 200 tech-specific employees in the past six months, and a company spokesperson says they plan to hire hundreds more in the coming years. Approximately 50 percent of laid-off tech workers found jobs within six months. Many relocated to emerging startups or started offering services as freelancers and software development consultants. The financial sector absorbed about 25 percent of these professionals, who now work in growing fintech companies or provide financial consulting. In manufacturing, about 30 percent opted for training programs in renewable energy and advanced manufacturing with software development. The hospitality sector, meanwhile, saw an increase in workers who transitioned into sustainable tourism or roles in delivery and food services. But in terms of salaries, the wages that tech workers were accustomed to are hard to match in other industries. The average salary for a tech worker is significantly higher than the national average, at around $87,000 per year, compared to $54,000 for the average U.S. worker, with some areas of the country seeing tech salaries exceed $200,000 annually. The average salary of a software engineer in San Francisco, United States, is $242,000. The rise of artificial intelligence and automation continues to drive demand for highly skilled workers. Tech companies investing in AI are creating an environment where professionals with programming, data analysis, and software development skills will continue to be highly sought after. In an increasingly digital world, tech workers specializing in these areas will need to adapt to the changing demands of the market. Although the job market is less favorable than it was a few years ago, tech skills remain valuable in a variety of sectors, including financial services, manufacturing, and government. Your opinion matters to us. Subscribe and let us know what you think in the comments below.