Technology companies are shedding jobs at disturbing rates. Those with experience in computing are being laid off, sometimes with little warning. Freshly minted computer science graduates are facing employment headwinds not seen for well over a decade. Is this the next dot-com bubble burst, which could send the economy spiraling downward to new lows?
Hardly. Every bull market is followed by a bear. Such oscillations are part of business cycles. As painful as they are while they’re happening, they serve numerous purposes.
First, they give explosive growth a temporary pause to allow tech companies to catch their breath and reevaluate the landscape. Second, they help the identification of inefficiencies that remain unnoticed when growth surges are overshadowing blemishes in organizations. Third, they force tech companies to reset their priorities that over time will make them stronger and more efficient.
