CEO apologizes for using Martin Luther King Jr. quote in layoffs email
Washington PostAPR 2023
The Spin
Narrative A
These mass layoffs are undoubtedly real, but so is the strong economy. This is because most of the cuts are confined to the tech industry, particularly for software engineers, recruiters, and product, marketing, and operations managers. However, this doesn't mean those jobs are obsolete, but that major corporations simply overhired during the pandemic and are now correcting course. Other sectors are open for business right now, and tech workers will soon catch up as their industry is expected to boom in the coming decade.
Narrative B
This isn't just a tech sector problem, as temp workers, particularly in manufacturing, have seen a wave of 110K workers being laid off in the last five months of 2022. Though unemployment seems to be holding steady, the mixture of white and blue-collar job losses, coupled with impending stagflation as the Fed retains its high-interest rates, could amount to a very real, albeit unique, recession.