Tech Job Cuts or Skills Realignment?

Arun Tewary – Strategic Advisor & Director

The technology sector has recently experienced significant job cuts, particularly in product companies. The companies are citing financial concerns as the reason for job reductions, although they are also investing in updated technologies and upgrading their data centers. It appears that the decision to reduce jobs was influenced more by the adoption of cutting-edge technologies than by the profitability of the organization. Though the current concerns may appear to be limited to the technology sector, they are likely to spread to other sectors as well, with far-reaching implications.

Would these companies have been better off taking a more balanced approach? The situation could have been handled differently by such organizations in order to create a win-win situation for everyone. It would have been beneficial for all parties concerned if part of the workforce had been retrained to use these emerging technologies. This would prevent the massive job cuts that are occurring currently.

In the next four or five years, emerging technologies will likely transform the global job market. A global reskilling initiative is therefore necessary in order to prevent mass job losses such as those we are experiencing at the moment. In order to ensure that the future workforce is “version-updated”, companies and the academic sector should lead in this area and begin (re)aligning with emerging trends. It would be necessary to obtain strong support from technology veterans and business leaders on this front in order to prevent the present scenario of mass layoffs.

In line with this goal, Finesse has taken a small step forward by launching 1CXO and I am a part of the advisory team. Stay tuned for more updates .