Silicon Valley Starts To Feel The Sting Of Layoffs

[OhioChick]

The scene may remind some of 2001 and 2002, when the Internet bubble exploded and dumped hundreds of thousands of engineers in the area onto the unemployment rolls.

By Reuters
InformationWeek
November 26, 2008 08:00 PM

SAN FRANCISCO - The economic slowdown has finally begun to hit home in Silicon Valley, with tech companies large and small shedding jobs in advance of what is widely expected to be a difficult year.

The scene may remind some of 2001 and 2002, when the Internet bubble exploded and dumped hundreds of thousands of engineers in the area onto the unemployment rolls.

But the situation is far different this time, with the financial and housing sectors to blame, not tech. And few, at least at this point, see the layoffs having a long-term impact on the Valley's fabled reputation as a cradle of innovation and risk-taking.

"In 2001, we were the epicenter, we were the cause," said Stephen Levy, director of the Center for Continuing Study of the California Economy. "Now it's a world-wide recession event."

Although layoffs have just begun in the Valley -- with more expected -- many say employment will hold up better than it did after the dot-com bust, even as the world suffers through the most paralyzing financial meltdown in a generation.

Even so, that provides little comfort for the growing ranks of unemployed IT professionals struggling to get by.

Vivek Sharma, a business systems analyst from India who is in the U.S. on an H-1B work visa, said he was working as an independent contractor on a project for Macys.com before the company abruptly cut the cord in October.

"The job market is completely dead," Sharma said.

More: http://www.informationweek.com/news/management/trends/showArticle.jhtml?articleID=212200779&cid=RSSfeed_IWK_All

[Vincardog]

1. Cry me a river for all those poor unemployed H-1B "professionals"

[ihavenobias]

2. K & R

[Grinchie]

3. H1-B's are ususlly the last to go, so you know everyone else is gone already.

[formercia]

4. On the positive side

Now that all of these professionals will have so much free time on their hands, they can use their talents to support open-source projects.