It’s been a brutal January for many tech workers in the Bay Area, even as our overall economy gets a big AI-related boost.
According to Layoffs.fyi, we’ve already seen more than 10,000 job cuts in the first few weeks of the new year. But AI seems to be an area where companies are still hiring.
"Remember, our whole history is industries being invented, reaching a point of maturity, and then becoming obsolete. This happens over and over, it's been our story for 80 years," said Russell Hancock, CEO of Joint Venture Silicon Valley.
Companies like Google, eBay, ChargePoint and even TikTok have all shifted their focus, and its jobs, to AI.
"It's a learning experience for everybody," said John Comeau, who has been through Silicon Valley layoffs before.
He says it's always good to have a backup plan, and try to keep up with current tech trends.
"Just be persistent, keep on going at it, there will be opportunities coming up. I mean, AI and a lot of different things are happening,” said Comeau.
And he's right. For example, AiDash, based in San Jose, just raised $50 million in venture capital money to use AI to fight climate change -- and is hiring.
"We are a 300 person company today, and we plan to double that size to 600 people in the next two years,” said CEO Abhishek Singh. “That will include aggressive hiring in the Bay Area.”
Get a weekly recap of the latest San Francisco Bay Area housing news. Sign up for NBC Bay Area’s Housing Deconstructed newsletter.
He added that a lot of that hiring will be done over the next six months.
Google CEO Sundar Pichai put out a memo saying that the company will focus on its priorities. Meaning new AI-related jobs, and likely, cuts in other areas.
