VANCOUVER — The labour market for tech workers in Canada changed so quickly, they may be suffering from psychological whiplash.

After a record-breaking year of initial public offerings and new unicorns emerging on the corporate landscape, the economy shifted and public and private capital dried up. Many tech firms, wary of using up their financial runway, looked to trim costs where possible. 

Staff had been in such demand during a recent tech talent crunch that companies lured workers with benefits ranging from parental leave to coverage for fertility treatments. Some hired relocation specialists to help new staff settle in. Now, these same workers found themselves to be less a scarce resource than a disposable one.

In quick succession, several Canadian tech firms laid off large portions of their staff. Thinkific, Goodfood, Bonsai, BBTV, Wealthsimple, Shopify, Hootsuite and Clearco all trimmed their headcount by as much as 30 per cent at a time. So far this year, tech companies around the world have let go more than 113,000 people across over 750 rounds of layoffs, according to a tracker from TrueUp, a tech job marketplace. On Thursday, Shopify reportedly laid off about 70 workers, though the company disputed the figure.

These workers must now navigate a dwindling tech-job market amid ongoing economic uncertainty. The Logic spoke with some of those unexpectedly job hunting while their counterparts in other sectors have their choice of positions. Most appreciate the comparatively generous support their former employers provided. But it is a different job market now, they say—one where their skills remain in demand, yet opportunities come slowly, and their anxiety deepens as more and more of their peers circulate their resumes.

Amin S.

Former product specialist at Shopify

Amin S., who asked The Logic not to use his full name to protect his future job prospects, joined Shopify in March 2021. He applied for two of many job postings at the firm at the time and interviewed for one. Two weeks later, he received and signed an employment contract. “​​I certainly found that Shopify was really eager to hire people at that time,” he said. His compensation package was competitive and included stock options, he said.

On the job, things went well for Amin. In just seven months, he moved into a role at Shopify fulfillment services, which had been his goal since joining the company. But in 2022, he and his coworkers grew nervous about the value of their stock options, as Shopify’s share price slid from its November 2021 high of more than $200 to $52 or less in the weeks leading up to the layoffs.

Still, he said, it was a surprise when his team lead announced on July 26 there would be some news coming shortly to their inboxes. In an email, CEO Tobi Lütke said 10 per cent of jobs would be eliminated and those who were leaving would find out shortly. Within 15 minutes, Amin learned his position was among those cut and his email access was shut off.

Amin received what he regards as a “pretty decent” severance package of 16 weeks’ pay. The company also offered a $1,000 stipend for the purchase of a laptop, he said, and the assistance of a work-placement service. 

But he betrays some annoyance that the layoffs happened at all. Lütke’s email, which was later published on the company’s blog, acknowledged that the CEO had made a bad bet on the pandemic-fuelled demand for e-commerce becoming the new normal. “You could have, and probably should have, seen this coming a lot sooner,” said Amin, “and maybe you shouldn’t have been hiring at the rate that you were.” One person Amin knows was laid off from Shopify after less than a month on the job.

Suffice to say, finding a new job is taking Amin more time now than it did 18 months ago. He is in the final stages of interviewing with a few companies, but instead of two weeks, the process is already into its second month. He’s optimistic about securing a similarly well-paid position, after upgrading his skills.

Sobered by his experience at Shopify, he’s asking lots of questions at the interviews, seeking details about the company’s business roadmap and last financing round. “What I am worried about,” he said, “is the same thing happening again.” 

Sherri Koop

Former senior customer success manager at Thinkific

Sherri Koop was looking for a career pivot when she joined Thinkific in November 2020. She was there when the high-flying edtech company debuted on the Toronto Stock Exchange at a $1-billion valuation. While everyone celebrated, Koop was more grounded. She’d previously worked at a company that had held an IPO and later filed for bankruptcy. 

Koop noticed “there was a great deal of money spent around celebrating the IPO,” which made for an exciting time. But not long after, Koop started to feel some concerns around the company’s rapid expansion, particularly when it came to headcount. “The growth felt like it was becoming more about the growth itself than what the growth was rooted in,” she said. Near the end of the year, she started thinking: “Are we growing for the sake of growing?”

Still, she was caught off guard by the layoffs—so much so that when an all-hands meeting invitation popped into everyone’s calendar on March 29 she said to coworkers, “There’s no way it’s going to be layoffs.”

When the meeting started though, Koop looked at CEO Greg Smith and wondered if someone had died. He delivered a brief message—a roughly 20 per cent staff reduction—and said everyone would soon receive one of two types of calendar invitation. Those who were staying would get a meeting with their team leader, while those that were leaving would get a departure meeting. Ten minutes later, Koop received her departure-meeting request. “I was in complete and utter shock,” she said. 

She immediately started looking for work and found a lot of jobs were available. Thinkific was one of the first firms to do mass layoffs and Smith justified it, in part, as a way to help the employees who’d been let go find new work before the market became saturated. 

There was a brief window when Koop was able to take advantage of that lead time. Then, she said: “We, I think, collectively started to realize: ‘Oh, this is happening everywhere. Like, nobody is immune here.’” Koop started her new job, also as a senior customer success manager, in May.

Edmond D.

Former operations associate at Wealthsimple

After Edmond D., who asked The Logic not to use his full name to protect his future job prospects, graduated from university, he started working at Wealthsimple. It was a difficult time to find work, he said, as he graduated in the early months of the COVID-19 pandemic and with a degree—political science— that was not a natural path into the tech sector. But the team at Wealthsimple, the Toronto-based fintech, was receptive. “I believe they were growing at a very, very rapid pace,” he said.

While the pace of growth slowed while Edmond was there, he attributed that to the typical stabilization of a startup. But as media reported mass layoffs at other tech firms, and broader economic issues, he and his coworkers grew concerned. “I think everyone felt something coming.”

The telltale all-staff meeting invitation landed in June, and though he was working on a relatively small and seemingly necessary team, he was among the 13 per cent (or 159 employees) let go. “I guess, in this market, anybody can get laid off in a second,” he told The Logic.

He received a severance package that gave him breathing room to take some time off and travel. Wealthsimple also offered workshops focused on resume and LinkedIn-profile writing, performing well in job interviews and other skills; as well as individual sessions focused on job hunting.

Edmond has taken advantage of that support, and has been pleased by how the broader tech community has stepped up to help. Various human-resources representatives have reached out, he said, “asking us to join their team.” There is also a spreadsheet circulating with the names of some of the people who have been laid off from several companies and are looking for work, he said.

So far, his search has yet to yield a suitable offer. He’s hoping to transition into project management, and is trying to find a balance between the right fit in terms of responsibility and compensation, and being too picky. 

He hopes to have a new job within the next month and a half, and maybe even enjoy the unexpected break after foregoing his vacation time over nearly two years at Wealthsimple. “There is a part of me that is very, very thankful for this layoff… I think I was long overdue for a vacation.”

Matt Roy

Formerly worked in influencer marketing at Thinkific

Matt Roy worked at Thinkific for only about three months, despite planning to be there for at least two years. He joined in January and was laid off in late March. It felt like “a huge surprise,” he said, despite some concerns he’d had watching Thinkific’s share price plummet from about $9 at the end of 2021 to closer to $3 leading up to the layoffs. At the time, he thought: “If it continues on its down trend, I don’t see the company maintaining all employees.” 

He didn’t feel panicked, though, in part because the company provided resources to help Roy and others in his position regain their footing. There was what he called “a very good” severance package, as well as career coaching and a website made to help Roy and his laid-off colleagues find jobs. It listed their team, skills, websites, availability and contact information. “Once that page went live, I had 20 interviews that I was trying to book,” said Roy. In the end, he found his new gig, building an influencer marketing program at high-end luggage maker Monos, through a referral from a friend.

Jenna Aquino

Former marketing manager at Wavy

Jenna Aquino first joined Wavy, a Toronto-based workplace culture management platform, as a freelancer in May 2021, before moving on to a contract role. By January 2022, she had a permanent, full-time position with the company—her first since graduating from university in April. She loved Wavy’s fully remote-work policy and took advantage of it, moving from Waterloo, Ont., to Montreal, and later to Italy, where she planned to travel and work for about two months.

When she started, Aquino was not yet concerned by the looming economic downturn. Wavy was preparing to announce a $2.5-million seed-round raise in mid-April, and the company planned to use some of the funds to hire more staff. “In my own, little world at the time, it wasn’t even on my radar,” Aquino said. She describes the outlook at Wavy thusly:  “We just raised money and we’re growing and, come work with us.”

She started to notice signs of a slowdown in June, though. Wavy was planning a big event to regenerate some of that April fundraising buzz. Prospective clients were telling the company they loved the product, but they couldn’t immediately commit the funds to it. The event didn’t have the return-on-investment the company hoped for, she said, and by then “nobody can deny it. We’re definitely facing a bit of a downturn and we’re seeing it in our business model.” Wavy quietly put a freeze on hiring, removing the we’re-hiring language from LinkedIn profiles.

Still, the company messaging was: don’t panic. During a two-day, all-staff meeting, company leaders spoke transparently about the state of the business, but stressed they were “confident we have the right people to power through the storm,” Aquino said.

Shortly after that meeting, her biweekly one-one-one with her manager, the CEO, was rescheduled from its typical time slot to a day later. Aquino came prepared on July 20 with notes on how to better track certain metrics, but, as she puts it, “by the end of the call, I didn’t have a job anymore.” The small company—it has a staff of 14, according to its website–laid off two people that day, she said. The firm told Aquino the decision had nothing to do with her work; rather, the company’s performance was not where its leaders had hoped it would be, so they couldn’t justify her position anymore.

Aquino was working from Italy at the time, far from a personal and professional support network. She was concerned about spending more money than she would be if she had been at home, and losing her employer benefits, which she relied on to cover her health and travel insurance.

She was permitted to work for another week and received one week’s severance. Aquino said she had to ask for an exit interview, but that the company offered help connecting her to potential job opportunities.

Aquino took a break to continue traveling after wrapping up her work at Wavy, as it would be difficult to interview while moving around Italy. She’s coming back to Canada and has already started the job hunt, submitting one application so far.

“There’s still a lot of uncertainties,” she said. She’s going to live with family for a bit, while she looks for work and replenishes her bank account, and wants to find another fully remote position, but worries she may have to sacrifice the perfect job for practical reasons.

She remains optimistic about what’s next. “Even though it hasn’t been easy,” Aquino said, “I’m not jaded yet.”