The tech industry’s boom-bust hiring cycle left tens of thousands without jobs—and damaged trust in top executives

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As a recruiter for a large tech company, Niki Woodall relished the thrill of working through the pandemic-driven digital boom of the early 2020s, a period marked by rampant hiring and exciting prospects for sales growth.

Then, in the middle of last year, the landscape shifted. People returned to pre-pandemic habits. Unsustainably low interest rates gave way to inflation. Consumers started pinching pennies in anticipation of a possible recession. And suddenly, tech companies didn’t need all of those employees.