What Tech Layoffs Mean for Travel Brands

Skift Take

The job losses at big tech brands including Facebook and Twitter present a big challenge for those companies and the talent they've lost. But the travel industry dealt with much of this in 2020. What's next?

Skift Podcast

Compelling discussions with travel industry leaders and creatives who are helping to shape the future of travel.

At at time when the travel industry is still grappling with a labor shortage, you have to think some companies in the sector are “labor hoarding,” hanging on to workers that might have otherwise been downsized for costs savings or seasonality reasons, simply because of the fear of not being able to fill roles later.

The continuing issue of delays and bottlenecks for the H1B visa program, which was a major feeder for tech talent in the U.S., must be giving some tech executives pause when contemplating layoffs, knowing that that supply of talent is not as easy to come by should demand for workers return.

On today’s bonus podcast, we’re joined by Skift editors and a Skift Research analyst to better understand what’s happening in the tech sector and what it means for the travel industry. Some of the topics they discuss include:

Tech headcount has grown during pandemic while travel has shrunk
Lesson for travel is don’t assume the ‘boom’ times of today will last forever
Harder to reach sales contacts at tech firms
Less business travel and meetings and conferences from tech companies
VC slowdown could be possible as valuations of other firms dip

Listen to the entire conversation here:

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