美国国家公共电台 NPR--Tens of thousands of tech workers have lost their jobs since Jan. 1

Tens of thousands of tech workers have lost their jobs since Jan. 1

Transcript¹

NPR's Steve Inskeep talks to Arun Sundararajan, Harold Price Professor of Entrepreneurship at New York University, about the effects of sweeping² layoffs³ on tech workers.

STEVE INSKEEP, HOST:

Who's really affected⁴ by layoffs in the tech industry? Some people worked for Alphabet, the parent company of Google. Some worked for Spotify, which announced layoffs just yesterday. They worked for Twitter and many other companies. And in total, more than 56,000 people have seen their jobs cut this month alone. Arun Sundararajan says this change hits a variety of people.

ARUN SUNDARARAJAN: A lot of people think of it as people who work in computer science-related or engineering-related activities. However, the tech companies employ a wide variety of other people, ranging from customer service to financial analysts⁵ to tens of thousands of people who are screening content.

INSKEEP: Sundararajan is the Harold Price professor of entrepreneurship at New York University. He says these layoffs are a psychological blow for people who were fired and even those who were not.

SUNDARARAJAN: A number of large tech companies have grown at a breathtaking pace over the last five years. Google has more than doubled their workforce⁶ from 80,000 to 180,000 from 2017 to 2022. And that pales in comparison to Meta that doubled its workforce between 2018 and 2022. And they're all put to shame by Amazon that went from under 800,000 at the end of 2019 to over 1.6 million at the end of 2021. So they more than doubled in two years. There has been a tremendous feeling of security over the last five or six years. And so what has happened is that people have gone from feeling secure to having to deal with a high level of uncertainty⁷ potentially for, like, you know, the first time in their career.

INSKEEP: Oh, this is an interesting point because it's been observed in recent days that people in the tech industry who lose their jobs typically get rehired quickly. Do people have to worry if maybe that will not be true for them?

SUNDARARAJAN: Absolutely. I think that as more and more tech companies start to lay off workers, their ability to turn around and hire people immediately gets constrained⁸. And as a consequence, the ease with which a tech worker might be able to find their next job starts to be constrained. And so in many ways, I think we are entering unprecedented⁹ territory, at least for a year.

INSKEEP: Could it be longer than a year?

SUNDARARAJAN: It's unlikely in my mind. I think things will be back to some normal, some pre-2017 normal, by 2024. What I have also been noticing is that not just tech workers but most employees in America tend to depend on their job for things more than just income. You know, increasingly over the last decade, Americans have found community from their workplace rather than other community or religious organizations. I think that's part of why there is anxiety, even at the level of people who feel like, well, at worst, it's a year. I'm sure I'll find another job, but it's more than the income that is being lost.

INSKEEP: Do you have students who are graduating this year into this market you're describing?

SUNDARARAJAN: Yes, I do.

INSKEEP: What advice would you give them?

SUNDARARAJAN: Well, students tend to be optimistic, so I would feed off their optimism to say, well, 2023 is going to be a difficult year to graduate, especially from a business school, because hiring has shifted away from finance - being finance dominant¹⁰ like it was 15 years ago to being more reliant on tech companies and tech consulting. But things will probably improve by 2024. Fundamentally, you have gotten a degree that has prepared you for life. Your first job is not the most important thing. So, you know, if you can afford it, take a year off. Do something that you wanted to do before college and reenter the labor¹¹ market in 2024.

INSKEEP: I want to ask another question about that labor market. As tech firms lay off people, are the companies shrinking or deliberately¹² evolving? By which I mean, are they getting rid of workers they think are redundant¹³ while perhaps also building up in other areas of the company?

SUNDARARAJAN: That's a great question, and I think it's a mix. A lot of the layoffs that we're seeing over the last few months are simply a reaction to overhiring during the pandemic. And so some of the jobs that are being lost today or some of the positions that are being eliminated today are permanent. They just reflect the fact that, for example, commerce has shifted offline and back to being in-person now. And so we don't need as many people as we needed in 2021. But in many specific cases, it's reflecting an evolution of the business model of the company. There are more and more activities that used to require humans that are increasingly being taken on by computers. It makes it easier. It makes it more palatable¹⁴ if they do this kind of workforce optimization¹⁵ at a time where layoffs are in the air, which is why some people sometimes conclude that layoffs are contagious¹⁶. They're not actually contagious. It just, like, lowers the barriers and legitimizes the activity in the eyes of the executives if everybody else is doing it.

INSKEEP: Well, now, that raises one more interesting question, or at least interesting to me. People worry about artificial intelligence taking over human jobs. Is it likely that artificial intelligence will take over some of the jobs in the tech industry itself that is doing artificial intelligence?

SUNDARARAJAN: Absolutely. Some of the things that artificial intelligence is particularly good at are things that are actually dominant in the tech sector¹⁷, like computer programming. It is actually much easier to create an artificial intelligence system that writes simple computer programs than it is to create one that has nuanced conversation the way that ChatGPT does. And so the tech companies that are creating this artificial intelligence are certainly going to be active consumers of it. However, historically, when a new technology has caused human beings to be not needed for certain kinds of economic activities, the new technology creates a different kind of demand for human labor. And my expectation is that, overall, that's going to be the case with artificial intelligence as well.

INSKEEP: Arun Sundararajan of NYU, thanks so much.

SUNDARARAJAN: Thank you. It's always a pleasure.

1 transcript   

n.抄本，誊本，副本，肄业证书

参考例句：

• A transcript of the tapes was presented as evidence in court.一份录音带的文字本作为证据被呈交法庭。
• They wouldn't let me have a transcript of the interview.他们拒绝给我一份采访的文字整理稿。

2 sweeping   

adj.范围广大的，一扫无遗的

参考例句：

• The citizens voted for sweeping reforms.公民投票支持全面的改革。
• Can you hear the wind sweeping through the branches?你能听到风掠过树枝的声音吗？

3 layoffs   

临时解雇( layoff的名词复数 )； 停工，停止活动

参考例句：

• Textile companies announced 2000 fresh layoffs last week. 各纺织公司上周宣布再次裁员两千人。
• Stock prices broke when the firm suddenly announced layoffs. 当公司突然宣布裁员时，股票价格便大跌

4 affected   

adj.不自然的，假装的

参考例句：

• She showed an affected interest in our subject.她假装对我们的课题感到兴趣。
• His manners are affected.他的态度不自然。

5 analysts   

分析家，化验员( analyst的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• City analysts forecast huge profits this year. 伦敦金融分析家预测今年的利润非常丰厚。
• I was impressed by the high calibre of the researchers and analysts. 研究人员和分析人员的高素质给我留下了深刻印象。

6 workforce   

n.劳动大军，劳动力

参考例句：

• A large part of the workforce is employed in agriculture.劳动人口中一大部分受雇于农业。
• A quarter of the local workforce is unemployed.本地劳动力中有四分之一失业。

7 uncertainty   

n.易变，靠不住，不确知，不确定的事物

参考例句：

• Her comments will add to the uncertainty of the situation.她的批评将会使局势更加不稳定。
• After six weeks of uncertainty,the strain was beginning to take its toll.6个星期的忐忑不安后，压力开始产生影响了。

8 constrained   

adj.束缚的,节制的

参考例句：

• The evidence was so compelling that he felt constrained to accept it. 证据是那样的令人折服，他觉得不得不接受。
• I feel constrained to write and ask for your forgiveness. 我不得不写信请你原谅。

9 unprecedented   

adj.无前例的，新奇的

参考例句：

• The air crash caused an unprecedented number of deaths.这次空难的死亡人数是空前的。
• A flood of this sort is really unprecedented.这样大的洪水真是十年九不遇。

10 dominant   

adj.支配的，统治的；占优势的；显性的；n.主因，要素，主要的人(或物)；显性基因

参考例句：

• The British were formerly dominant in India.英国人从前统治印度。
• She was a dominant figure in the French film industry.她在法国电影界是个举足轻重的人物。

11 labor   

n.劳动，努力，工作，劳工；分娩；vi.劳动，努力，苦干；vt.详细分析；麻烦

参考例句：

• We are never late in satisfying him for his labor.我们从不延误付给他劳动报酬。
• He was completely spent after two weeks of hard labor.艰苦劳动两周后，他已经疲惫不堪了。

12 deliberately   

adv.审慎地；蓄意地；故意地

参考例句：

• The girl gave the show away deliberately.女孩故意泄露秘密。
• They deliberately shifted off the argument.他们故意回避这个论点。

13 redundant   

adj.多余的，过剩的；(食物)丰富的；被解雇的

参考例句：

• There are too many redundant words in this book.这本书里多余的词太多。
• Nearly all the redundant worker have been absorbed into other departments.几乎所有冗员，都已调往其他部门任职。

14 palatable   

adj.可口的，美味的；惬意的

参考例句：

• The truth is not always very palatable.事实真相并非尽如人意。
• This wine is palatable and not very expensive.这种酒味道不错，价钱也不算贵。

15 optimization   

n.最佳化，最优化；优选法；优化组合

参考例句：

• Development of detergents has required optimization of the surfactants structure. 发展洗涤剂时，要求使用最恰当的表面活性剂结构。 来自辞典例句
• In the case of productivity tools and other non-entertainment-oriented products, this optimization means minimizing work. 对于生产工具和其他非娱乐导向的产品而言，这意味着将工作负荷降至最低。 来自About Face 3交互设计精髓

16 contagious   

adj.传染性的，有感染力的

参考例句：

• It's a highly contagious infection.这种病极易传染。
• He's got a contagious laugh.他的笑富有感染力。

17 sector   

n.部门，部分；防御地段，防区；扇形

参考例句：

• The export sector will aid the economic recovery. 出口产业将促进经济复苏。
• The enemy have attacked the British sector.敌人已进攻英国防区。