Traders works on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange. <\/p>\n
NYSE<\/p>\n
October’s job losses in the U.S. were nearly twice as high as a month earlier \u2014 the steepest for any October since 2003, data from outplacement firm Challenger, Gray & Christmas showed.<\/p>\n
The technology sector was the hardest hit, with 33,281 cuts, almost six times September’s total.<\/p>\n
Being laid off is an awful feeling \u2014 and it must feel bitterly ironic to work in a field that’s developing the very technology making you redundant.<\/p>\n
One person spared both redundancy fears and existential doubt is Tesla<\/a> CEO Elon Musk, who just had a nearly $1 trillion pay package approved by Tesla shareholders<\/a>.<\/p>\n To earn the full trillion, though, Musk has to meet a chain of performance targets, culminating in Tesla reaching an $8.5 trillion valuation.<\/p>\n Its market cap is currently $1.54 trillion \u2014 by contrast, the world’s most valuable company now is Nvidia, which briefly hit a $5 trillion valuation last Wednesday<\/a>.<\/p>\n After Thursday’s slump in tech stocks, however, Nvidia’s<\/a> market cap has dipped to a “mere” $4.57 trillion.<\/p>\n Other tech companies, such as Microsoft<\/a>, Broadcom<\/a> and Palantir Technologies<\/a>, also fell broadly over concerns that their stock prices are too high. Those moves dragged the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite<\/a> down by 1.9%.<\/p>\n For most tech workers and investors, Thursday was another reminder of volatility’s sting. For Elon Musk, it was just another day on the road to the stratosphere.<\/p>\n What you need to know todayAnd finally…<\/p>\n A panoramic view of Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.<\/p>\n Alessio Gaggioli Photography | Moment | Getty Images<\/p>\n