Tech firms snapping up ex-Twitter employees…
Talent-short tech firms have had their wishes come true, with the exodus of staff from Twitter creating an unexpected swell of new talent that firms are eager to snap up. In a post appearing on LinkedIn, Katie Burke, chief people officer at software company HubSpot wrote: “Great leaders recognize debate and disagreement makes you better and is part of the process. If you want a place where you can disagree (in a kind, clear manner of course), with people, HubSpot is hiring.” Other companies eying up an opportunity to hire skilled staff include CoderPad, with its chief executive of recruitment, Amanda Richardson, publishing an open letter to Twitter leavers. Richardson described Musk’s takeover as a “shit show” which had been “terribly frustrating, depressing and demotivating.” She added: “At CoderPad, we believe your skills say it all. Not where you sit. Not if you sleep at work. Not working seven days a week for 18 hours a day.”
…as HP announces job cuts
Hewlett Packard, has announced it will be cutting as many as 6,000 jobs over the next three years, as it says it is forced to respond to the slump in demand in the technology sector. The announcement comes as HP, which makes computer hardware and printers, announced an 11.2% fall in revenues to $14.8 billion for the final fiscal quarter of 2022. HP, which has a payroll of about 61,000 people, said it wants to achieve $1.4 billion in annual savings by 2025. “These are the toughest decisions we have to make, because they impact colleagues we care deeply about. We are committed to treating people with care and respect,” an HP spokesperson said. In a separate statement, HP CEO Enrique Lores added that the cost cutting plan “will enable us to better serve our customers and drive long-term value creation by reducing our costs and reinvesting in key growth initiatives to position our business for the future.”
Texas breaks new jobs records
The state of Texas is the place where employers are hiring fastest, according to latest data that shows that it broke an all-time record for job gains, as well as notching up the fastest annual jobs growth rate from October 2021 to October 2022. According to figures published this week by the Texas Workforce Commission, Texas broke its own all-time record for total jobs, adding an extra 49,500 nonfarm jobs last month. Texas set a new record in October with a total of 14,002,911 employed Texans working in nonfarm jobs, including the self-employed and other job categories. The annual jobs growth rate from October 2021 to October 2022 was 5.4% – the fastest in the US. Texas’ labor force participation rate – the percentage of all working age Texans employed or actively seeking employment – was also above the national average of 63.6%. Among private industry job growth, professional and business services added the most jobs (18,700), followed by leisure and hospitality (11,600 jobs).
Automation is responsible for pay inequality – MIT
New data suggest most of the growth in the wage gaps since 1980 comes from automation displacing less-educated workers. A newly published MIT study suggests that automation “explains 50 to 70% of the changes or variation between group inequality from 1980 to about 2016.” The paper, “Tasks, Automation, and the Rise in U.S. Wage Inequality,” also reveals that automation has reduced the wages of men without a high school degree by 8.8% and women without a high school degree by 2.3%, adjusted for inflation. Said Patrick Kline, a professor of economics at the University of California, Berkeley: “The empirical finding that automation has been the dominant factor driving US wage dispersion since 1980 is intriguing and seems certain to reignite debate over the relative roles of technical change and labor market institutions in generating wage inequality.”
Meta forced to deny Zuckerberg ‘resignation’ rumors
Meta – the parent company of Facebook – has been forced to deny claims that Mark Zuckerberg was set to stand down as CEO of the company he built from scratch. The Leak had reported this week that the 38-year-old billionaire decided to step down as the head of Meta. But a communications executive has been forced to clarify that this is “false”. The rumor comes on the back of Meta recently announcing massive job cuts, as well as suffering a share price collapse. Meta’s share price is now down 70% compared to what it was at the start of the year. Last month, Brad Gerstner, whose fund Altimeter Capital owns hundreds of millions of dollars worth of Meta shares, penned an open letter to the company making it clear that he is losing the trust of investors.
US wages could rise at their fastest rate next year
Good news for employees. Wages are predicted to rise by 4.6% in 2023 – a level that would see pay climb at its fastest rate for 15 years. A study published by Willis Towers Watson (WTW) reveals companies are willing to resort to layoffs and price increases in order to increase pay and retain top employees. It found 75% of companies are struggling to attract new talent and 70% of companies interviewed had already spent more on salary budgets in the last 12 months than they had planned. “With attraction and retention issues persisting, employers should consider the overall employee experience and not just salary increases,” responded Lesli Jennings, North America leader of work rewards and careers at WTW. “By focusing on health and wellness benefits, workplace flexibility, careers, and DEI, organizations can position themselves as the employer of choice for their current and prospective employees.”
Industries losing the most workers revealed
Analysis of US Bureau of Labor Statistics data by SmallPDF has revealed the top ten sectors losing the most amount of workers. Top of the list are those in the food services industry (including fast food workers, waiters and chefs) – a sector that lost an average of 5.8% of its workforce every month between April and August this year. This equates to around 773,600 employees quitting their jobs each and every month for the five months measured. Cashiers, customer service representatives and stock clerks are also leaving their jobs in droves – at second in the list. The data reveals that 600,400 of these employees left their jobs every month. The top four-placed sectors (including arts & entertainment workers and those in professional and business services), all had a quit rate above 3%. Further down the list were those in the health care and social assistance sector (with a quit rate of 2.52%) and education and health services (2.40%).