
Ask HN: Have there been many layoffs in the tech industry due to coronavirus? - sq1020
We&#x27;ve been hearing about all the layoffs in the hospitality, restaurant, and other industries but I&#x27;m wondering if the effects of the coronavirus shutdown are now starting to affect the tech industry.<p>If you&#x27;re currently still employed, do you fear that your job might be at risk in the coming months?
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_bxg1
There are companies that are directly impacted by changes (AirBnB, Uber) which
are taking a hit.

There are other companies that directly benefit from the changes (Zoom,
Netflix).

And then there are a bunch of tech startups that comprise risky investments
and are very dependent on investor cash. Investors are very quickly going from
open-handed to penny-pinching in the wake of the stock market crunch. These
companies may be hit the hardest.

Outside of the above, I think in software it's mostly business as usual. Of
course there will be those which are indirectly impacted as the whole economy
recesses, but of all the places to be right now software is probably one of
the best, between its tolerance for remote work and its continued usefulness
while more physical industries are thrown a curveball.

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pcthrowaway
Right now a lot of companies still operating are b2b businesses also, with
lots of the client businesses taking hits. That hasn't necessarily trickled
upstream yet, but I suspect it will.

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quaquaqua1
Indirect layoffs are coming. For example, if you are working for a technology
company that is servicing Halliburton, who just laid off 5,000 workers, then
there's a chance that Halliburton might decide to cancel that fancy new React
project they contracted out to you.

Now, if your company's main client is Halliburton, then layoffs are coming for
you next, maybe.

Another question is like, how POS providers like Toast, Clover, Upserve etc
stay in business when their main client base are closed right now potentially
even forever?

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Space_2020
I've heard that Toast has let go 100 something new hires that were about to
start there before their first day.

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quaquaqua1
Sorry to hear it!!

I have a friend at a very small POS shop that just announced they are closing
the whole company even.

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someonehere
The workers impacted by this most across all companies (whether benefitting or
dying from this) are the workplace staff. The people that keep the office
running. Most of these people are hourly and only real purpose to keep the
office lights on. When the office is closed, they don’t have any purpose any
more.

I have friends at various mid sized startups looking to lay off workplace
staff because of office closures.

If you hired people to stock canteens, prep lunch, ensure the office is
functioning, and now they’re working from home, there’s no reason to keep them
around anymore.

The good thing is once offices open up again they’ll need to hire them back.
But who knows when that is.

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mcjord
My consulting agency has already taken a significant blow in terms of client
work and relationships. Any tech company providing external services for
enterprise companies will likely be heavily impacted from my perspective.
Companies are doing whatever they can to save money, and typically this means
cutting ties with external services and partnerships before touching internal
employees. This is heavily dependent on the industry, however, but something
to be aware of if you are providing consulting services.

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downvoteme1
Check blind.com There are literally hundreds of threads in the last week where
multiple people have been let go due to coronavirus.

~~~
jdxcode
[https://teamblind.com](https://teamblind.com)

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austincheney
No. My primary job is a major bank. My part time job is military. Both are
considered essential. If my primary were to eliminate jobs my part time job
would voluntarily become full time.

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byoung2
There are some industries that seem to be booming, so I bet they might need to
hire (e.g. Instacart, Doordash, Netflix, Zoom), while others are probably
hurting (e.g. Yelp, Uber).

