After big tech layoffs, Silicon Valley loses its monopoly on workers

After a year defined by mass layoffs among Silicon Valley giants, technology workers are trading the prospect of high-growth equity and household-name employment for something more stable.

According to 2023 data from tech interviewing platform Karat, non-tech enterprise companies successfully hire nine out of every 10 candidates they extend offers to, whereas growth-focused big tech companies (such as those in and around the FAANG ecosystem) hire just two-thirds of those they extend offers to.

This gap has grown in recent years. In 2020, hypergrowth tech secured more candidates, but economic volatility and the prevalence of tech endeavors in a range of industries have flipped the script.

“Just as there was a flight to safety for investors, there has been the same one for candidates,” said Jeff Spector, president and co-founder of Karat. “Candidates are trading off upside for safety.”

This flight to safety makes sense given prolonged high interest rates, dramatic increases in overall cost of living and layoffs that have — in a sense — punctured the vision of tech hubs like Silicon Valley and Seattle as a place where tech talent can not only get their start but also grow in their career over the long-term without job hopping. “The veil of invincibility has been pierced,” Spector said.

According to tech layoff tracker Layoffs.FYI, 584 tech companies laid off people in the first quarter of 2023. That number decreased over the course of the year, but it was much higher than in 2022, and the wound remains open. Tech companies like Google, Meta, Microsoft, Amazon, Salesforce and more laid off 6% to 13% of their company. In some cases, like that of X (formerly Twitter), half of the company lost employment.

This week, Google announced another round of layoffs hitting engineering and hardware teams; Amazon laid off staffers in its…