Tech Layoffs Surge Past 100,000

yup, and also for companies whose stock prices are depressed (all of them), this is one of the only meaningful things they can do for investors in a recession. and frankly they can rehire people later for lower wages...i see a huge wave of salary resets going through the valley. developer wages were out of control, at one point last year i wouldn't even look at anything under $150k. now i have a lot of experience, but even i found these salaries absurd for developers. thats going to change.

I bet it has. No one is immune in a recession; quality, talented people get laid off of the time.

You could always work as a company employee (seishain) at a major Japanese company. They essentially can't fire you. You essentially can't quit.

In times of economic uncertainty, this sort of arrangement holds a lot of appeal to people. Believe me though, oh boy, there are downsides to the expectation that worker and company are joined at the hip forever.

A common opinion among my friends: "No matter how bad it is, above all, don't quit. If you quit, you'll never work for a decent company again. You'll be hakken shain (temp) for the rest of your life, condemned to perpetually poor conditions and ceaseless economic uncertainty. It would be like being American, except with worse pay. looks around Sorry, Patrick. When I said like an American, I didn't mean like you. But you're not American, anyhow, so its OK."

absolutely. i was a programmer at yahoo for almost thirteen years and was laid off. i'm not worried about finding work again, but since i have a nestegg i think i will sit things out for a year or so since job reqs will likely be featuring lower salaries. this makes sense, if i was a hiring employer in a valley of perpetually overextended, consumption obsessed workers, i wouldn't offer top dollar either. people will be taking what they can get to pay their bills.