Wave of tech layoffs tips power back in favour of employers in sector

Members of Canada's technology industry say another wave of layoffs the sector saw this week is tipping the power dynamic back in favour of employers.

Members of Canada's technology industry say another wave of layoffs the sector saw this week is tipping the power dynamic back in favour of employers.

Tech workers have had more power to negotiate better salaries and roles in recent years because they were growing so fast amid pandemic-era demand and needed top talent to keep up, said Marissa McNeelands, chief executive of women's tech collective Toast.

Now that cuts have spread to even the most prominent tech companies with layoffs this week at Amazon and Google, she says there are increasing numbers of laid off workers. As a result, companies can be more choosy about hiring and less generous with salaries.

"So for the last year and a half, two years, it's really been workers who have the leverage, have the power and there was a shortage, and now we're tipping the other way," she said Friday in an interview.

Abdullah Snobar, executive director of the DMZ tech hub in Toronto, noticed the same shift and said it began about 12 months ago, after companies had been speeding to hire and borrowing money was so cheap that large salaries were even more possible.

However, inflation is now stubbornly high, interest rates have been hiked significantly and many economists foresee a recession.

"An employee can't walk into the interview and ask for everything under the sun anymore," Snobar said.