Meta corporate headquarters in Menlo Park is shown in 2022. Meta is among the major Bay Area tech companies that have announced layoffs this year.
Josh Edelson/AFP via Getty Images
Times are tough in the Bay Area tech job market.
Since the start of 2026, Meta, Autodesk, Salesforce, Workday, Google, Pinterest, Block and other firms have announced layoffs. Though C-suite executives have crowed about AI creating new workforce efficiencies, industry watchers say other pressures are pushing companies to cut back, including overhiring in recent years, economic uncertainty, high interest rates and chilled foreign investments.
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Ryan Miller is the director of client success for Employment Boost, a corporate outplacement and career coaching firm that works with clients in the Bay Area. He said there’s been a definite shift in the tech job market: While there’s still demand for highly skilled people, companies are being more selective about the hiring process compared to recent years.
“When we look at the job market just in general in the Bay Area, it is a bit different than it has been in the past,” he said. “It’s not really a kind of rising-tide-lifts-all-ships sort of market anymore.”
Most laid-off workers are finding new roles within three to six months, he said, though he’s seeing searches last as long as a year for some. Tech firms are also cutting costs by offering less generous severance, he added.
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“We’re seeing more conservative separation packages,” Miller said. “It could be smaller severance package sizes; instead of a week of severance pay for each year, it might just be a defined amount. Companies are hanging on to their coin purses a little more.”
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And though tech careers often command high salaries, the high cost of living in the Bay Area means households may rely on every dollar to make ends meet, particularly for families juggling student loans, mortgages and child care. The maximum weekly unemployment payment in California is $450, which can be a steep drop from regular paychecks. And unemployment only lasts for 26 weeks.
There are signs to watch for that you may be more at risk of a layoff. If your company is publicly traded, you can listen in on shareholder meetings and earnings reports to assess how your firm is doing. If it isn’t, listen in workplace meetings for phrases like “efficiency,” or canceled events or travel — signs of belts being tightened. And pay attention during all-hands meetings and town halls: You want to hear higher-ups highlighting the project or team you’re working on. If you don’t, your risk of a layoff might be higher.
But the hard truth is: Everyone should be prepared for an unexpected job loss, said Mark Hamrick, a senior economic analyst for Bankrate.
“I wouldn’t limit the (financial) best practices to those who think their job is at high risk,” he said. “Because typically by the time that realization rolls around, it might be too late to do as much about it.”
Here’s what you can do right now to put yourself in a better financial position for an unexpected job hunt.
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Build up your emergency fund
Your emergency fund should cover three to six months of expenses. Right now, most financial experts would say six months is a safer target than three, given the state of the job market and the economy.
The number you calculate should represent “your bare-bones budget,” said Sean Pyles, a certified financial planner and the host of NerdWallet’s “Smart Money” podcast. It should include all the mandatory bills you have to pay every month, like your mortgage, property taxes, debt payments, insurance, phone and internet, utilities and a no-frills grocery allowance. Add that up and multiply it by 6 to get your target e-fund balance. (If you’ve never made a budget before, now’s the time to start: Check out my Wealth Challenge newsletter to learn how.)
• READ: Wealth Challenge: The ultimate guide to making a household budget
• READ: You’ve built your emergency fund. Here’s what to do when you need to use it
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Get current on your medical care
In California, employers with 75 or more workers are subject to the Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification or WARN Act, which requires that workers receive a 60-day notice before a mass layoff of 50 or more people. But it doesn’t apply to smaller employers and layoff situations, so your employer-sponsored insurance could run out sooner than you think.
Get caught up now on routine medical care like dental cleaning, eye appointments and your annual physical, so that you’ve got less on your to-do list in your notice period.
Most people who invest in a tax-advantaged health savings account do so with the intent to use that money in retirement, but it can make sense to tap those funds when you need them during unemployment. For example, you can use funds in your HSA to help pay for COBRA — the short-term health insurance many employers offer laid-off employees, who typically must shoulder the entire premium.
Trim your spending now
I was on a KQED Forum panel last year with Ramit Sethi, the author of “I Will Teach You to Be Rich,” and he said something that stuck with me: When economic headwinds start to kick up, CEOs don’t hesitate to pivot and make cuts. Regular people tend to not be as focused on their bottom line. But you should be running your household budget like a business, regularly reviewing expenditures (streaming services, gym memberships, takeout spending) and making sure they align with your strategic goals (living within your means, saving, investing).
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Go through your most recent credit card or bank statement and see if there’s fat you can start to trim right now, before you need to. Pyles recommended setting a goal of cutting $50 to $100 a week between canceling subscriptions, negotiating bills and shopping smarter.
• READ: The sneakiest way to cut your bills takes 5 minutes — and doesn’t mean canceling anything
Start your next job search
The best time to find a job is when you already have a job. So get a head start now. Polish your resume, update your LinkedIn and focus on networking so that if you do get an unexpected pink slip, your search is already underway.
“Reach out to your network and see what opportunities there might be,” Pyles said. “Don’t have all eggs in one employment basket.”