The reality of today's tech industry: layoffs, long hours, AI threats, and few perks

In a nutshell: It had long been said that a career in tech was the ultimate dream: high salaries, security, and a huge number of perks made for some very happy workers. But things look quite different today. The tech world has seen the highest number of layoffs of any private sector industry this year; perks have been cut; salaries aren't increasing in line with the extra demands; and there's the constant spectre of AI.

As parodied in the brilliant Silicon Valley show, there was a time when some tech employees were paid fortunes to do almost nothing in their jobs. Their enviable situation was still being reported a couple of years ago, when companies were flush with cash and had hired extra workers during the pandemic boom.

Now, we're faced with almost weekly headlines about tech's massive job cuts. Intel recently confirmed it is making layoffs that could impact 20,000+ people. Meta has cut 5% of its workforce in performance-based layoffs, something that Microsoft is also doing. Then there's Google, which this year has offered voluntary exit plans for some staff. Overall, more than 50,000 people from 100 tech companies have been laid off in 2025 so far.

Google cut back on employee fitness classes in 2023

Beyond the layoffs, more tech-industry perks are disappearing. Working from home is becoming a taboo subject as more firms drag employees back into the office: Intel is increasing its three-day in-office mandate to four days, while Google has told many remote workers to return to physical locations or face termination.

The Wall Street Journal notes that good pay is still prevalent among Silicon Valley companies, though AI experts are seeing their wages rise faster than anyone else. But firms have become obsessed with delivering the results that Wall Street analysts expect, and a lot of the revenue they bring in now goes toward AI infrastructure rather than universal wage boosts. Employees are also expected to work longer to stay competitive – Google co-founder Sergey Brin thinks 60 hours per week is the perfect amount for peak productivity.

Sergey Brin

Another problem is that many firms aren't filling the empty roles despite taking on more customers, with mundane day-to-day functions handed over to AI. The WSJ reports on an Amazon Web Services manager who says that he had to return to writing code for the first time in a decade last year as the team that would normally do it wasn't available.

The publication reports on a Meta recruiter who was laid off by the social media giant and rehired as a "short-term employee." It means she doesn't get any pay increases, promotions, or stock, and she's responsible for a workload that used to be spread out among several people.

Productivity, streamlining, efficiency, and cost cutting are becoming the mantras for tech companies, which some say is being spurred by President Trump and Elon Musk's budget slashing and purging of government agencies.

The industry's amazing perks like almost-unlimited amount of leave, free merchandise and, in the case of Meta, free laundry and dry cleaning have gone. Even high-quality food and drink in the cafes is disappearing as companies look to save money at every turn.

Will things improve? As the economy starts to look shakier amid the Trump tariffs and the AI obsession shows no signs of slowing down, it's unlikely that the tech world will return to the shining light it once was anytime soon.