Silicon Valley is currently enveloped in an atmosphere of surreal contradiction—tech giants are hitting record highs in earnings and stock prices, announcing massive investments and partnerships, seemingly in an unprecedented golden age. Yet, paradoxically, these same companies are simultaneously announcing large-scale layoffs, with tens of thousands losing jobs, while freezing entry-level hiring, casting a shadow over employment prospects.

Compared to the hiring frenzy during the pandemic, today's tech job market appears starkly different. By the end of October, U.S. tech firms had laid off over 140,000 employees this year, with 33,000 job cuts in October alone—17,100 of which occurred in the final week.

**Tech Giants Lead the Layoff Wave** The most aggressive cuts come from the wealthiest and highest-performing tech giants. Companies like Amazon.com, Microsoft, Alphabet, Meta, Salesforce, and Oracle have all conducted mass layoffs despite record revenues and valuations, with cuts often exceeding 10,000 employees per firm.

These giants face no financial pressure. Amazon.com, which recently announced 14,000 layoffs, holds $93 billion in cash reserves and $32 billion in free cash flow. Yet, over the past two and a half years, it has cut 42,000 jobs.

Beth Galetti, Amazon.com's SVP of HR, explained in an internal memo: "Some may wonder why we’re downsizing when business is strong. But the world is changing rapidly—this generation of AI is as disruptive as the internet’s birth. We must streamline to stay agile."

Indeed, AI is the driving force behind these layoffs. Companies cite AI’s impact in their announcements: either restructuring to focus on AI investments or replacing roles due to AI-driven efficiency gains.

**The AI Arms Race** Tech giants are racing to invest in AI infrastructure. Alphabet, Amazon.com, Microsoft, and Meta alone are projected to spend over $380 billion this fiscal year on capital expenditures, a 46% YoY increase, primarily for AI.

Alphabet raised its capex forecast to $91 billion, including a $15 billion data center in India. Days after layoffs, Amazon.com unveiled plans for its largest AI data center, leveraging 500,000 custom Trainium 2 chips, reducing costs to $11 billion—still a colossal sum. Meta pledged $600 billion over three years for AI and infrastructure, echoing Mark Zuckerberg’s earlier remarks at a presidential dinner.

**Software Engineers Hit Hardest** Behind soaring investments lies a brutal reality: software engineers are bearing the brunt of AI-driven cuts. GeekWire reports that 25% of layoffs in Washington State (home to Microsoft and Amazon.com) targeted engineers.

Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella revealed in April that AI now writes 30% of the company’s code—coinciding with 6,000 layoffs in May and 9,000 more in July, nearly 40% of whom were engineers. Meta predicts AI-generated code could exceed 50% within a year, while Amazon.com’s CEO noted that 79% of AI-generated code passes review unmodified.

Salesforce CEO Marc Benioff bluntly stated, "With AI, I don’t need as many employees," freezing engineering hires after cutting 9,000 jobs. Anthropic CEO Dario Amodei warned that 90% of coding could soon be AI-generated, with half of U.S. entry-level white-collar jobs vanishing within five years.

**Job Market Cools Dramatically** Demand for junior programmers has plummeted. Computer science graduates now face higher unemployment (7.5% for engineering, 6.1% for CS) than humanities majors (3% for art history, 4.4% for journalism), per the NY Fed’s April survey.

Even senior roles aren’t safe. Meta cut AI researchers, including renowned experts, while Microsoft’s LinkedIn laid off 281 employees, 71 of whom were senior engineers and ML specialists.

Revelio Labs data shows over 70% of tech workers laid off since March 2022 found jobs within three months—but today’s market is far harsher. Challenger, Gray & Christmas notes re-employment is slowing, with no seasonal hiring rebound expected in 2025.

**Loyalty Means Little** On Reddit’s layoff forums, displaced workers share stories of shock and betrayal. One Amazon.com employee described being notified via 3 AM text, with immediate account locks. A 24-year veteran wrote, "We’re just spreadsheet numbers now, while execs take million-dollar bonuses."

Others recounted relocating for office mandates only to be fired months later, or buying homes before losing income. Psychologists liken layoffs to acute stress reactions, ranking alongside bereavement and divorce.

**Psychological Scars** A decade-long tech worker laid off four times posted, "They say it’s not personal, but when peers keep jobs or get promoted, it feels like betrayal." Many face anxiety and shattered confidence.

While tech firms often offer severance (ranging from weeks to months’ pay), sudden income loss devastates those with mortgages, visas, or dependents. One engineer feared telling his pregnant wife: "She quit her job for the baby. How do I say we’ve lost everything?"

Amid the turmoil, family becomes a refuge. An Amazon.com employee shared, "After 17 nonstop years, I broke down crying. Then I made breakfast and took my kids to school—their smiles shook me. Maybe this is life?" His wife’s support brought fresh tears at a café: "We’ll get through this together."