Decoding the Tech Layoff Panic of 2024 (with Jeffrey Shulman)

Pitchfork Economics with Nick Hanauer

Civic Ventures

Business, Government, News, Politics

4.8 • 1.5K Ratings

🗓️ 7 May 2024

⏱️ 36 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

Even though the American labor market is currently stronger than it has been in decades, earlier this year Big Tech companies were laying off workers at an alarming pace. Economists struggled to understand why some 25,000 tech workers were losing their jobs, even as the media panicked about whether those layoffs were a warning sign of an oncoming recession. University of Washington Professor Jeff Shulman joins us to uncover the real reasons behind Big Tech’s layoffs, and to explain their implications for workers. Jeffrey Shulman is a professor at the Foster School of Business at the University of Washington. He’s also a podcaster and filmmaker with a diverse range of expertise in pricing, entrepreneurial marketing, and product management. As a professor, he is known for his innovative research and teaching methods that delve into the intricacies of economic principles and their practical applications in the business world. Recently, Shulman has gained recognition for his insightful commentary on the highly publicized layoffs in the tech industry. More from Professor Shulman: Nearly 25,000 tech workers were laid off in the first weeks of 2024. Why is that? Why widespread tech layoffs keep happening despite a strong U.S. economy How To Succeed In Product Management on Apple Podcasts How To Succeed In Product Management on Spotify Seattle Growth Podcast on Apple Podcasts On The Brink: A Film via PBS Website: http://pitchforkeconomics.com Twitter: @PitchforkEcon Instagram: @pitchforkeconomics Nick’s twitter: @NickHanauer

Transcript

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0:00.0	The rising inequality and growing political instability that we see today are the direct result of decades of bad economic theory.
0:10.0	It's time to build our economy from the bottom up and from the middle out, not the top down.
0:15.4	Middle out economics is the answer.
0:17.8	Because Wall Street didn't build this country.
0:20.1	Great middle class built this country.
0:22.3	The more the middle class thrives, the better the economy from the middle out.
0:42.0	Welcome to the show.
0:44.0	I don't know if you've heard this before, Nick,
0:52.0	but apparently Seattle is dying
0:55.5	Have you ever heard that like read the Seattle Times
0:59.5	Offed Page and and one of the one of the reasons why of course is you know we're big tech city big
1:05.8	high-tech city a lot of high-tech companies here either their main offices or
1:10.5	satellite offices and of course there's been a lot of layoffs in tech.
1:17.0	It's weird. It's not like these tech companies are suffering.
1:21.0	Their stock prices are doing great. their profits are through the roof,
1:25.2	but they've laid off hundreds of thousands of workers over the last year and a half or so.
1:31.3	So I assume that Seattle's dying because of that you're somewhat and you've been involved in the tech industry
1:38.9	peripherally Nick yeah you aware of that yeah well, I don't think Seattle is dying. I believe it's
1:45.5	continues to be the case that King County is that one of the fastest growing counties in the
1:50.2	country. But what I find really interesting is that the economy is the broader economy is booming. We've added more jobs in the last few years than I think any administration is added in history and yet the tech industry
2:08.4	looks like it's in many ways downsizing and that disjunction is sort of really interesting, right?
2:14.8	Like how can the broader economy be doing well while the tech industry,
	...

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