Reply #49: Tech Job Cuts Forecast for 2009 (hint: it's not good)

[Pale Blue Dot]

CIOs plan sharp reductions in contract staff, professional services, and hardware -- and almost no investment in cloud computing

IT staff jobs are at increasing risk -- both for contractors and in-house workers -- according to a survey of top CIOs by Goldman, Sachs & Co released last week. Global services companies will also feel the pinch because of the slowing economy.

A second survey showed that basic PC and network hardware, as well as professional services providers, would bear the largest proportion of spending cuts. It also showed that CIOs planned to emphasize economizing measures over investments new technologies, with cloud computing emerging as the last item on their priority lists, despite the hype around it.

IT contractors to bear the brunt of cuts

"Demand for discretionary IT projects dropped to its lowest point" in the 41-study history of the Goldman Sachs staffing survey, which asked 100 managers with strategic-decision-making authority (mainly CIOs at multinational Fortune 1000 companies) about their about IT staffing plans for 2009.

http://www.pcworld.com/businesscenter/article/148646/tech_job_cuts_forecast_for_2009.html