Silicon Valley could use a reboot. The biggest players aren’t growing, and more than one are seeing sharp declines in revenue. Regulators appear to oppose all proposed mergers, while lawmakers push for new rules to crack down on internet giants. The Justice Department simply can’t stop filing antitrust lawsuits against Google. The initial public offering market is closed. Venture capital investments are plummeting, along with valuations of pre-public companies. Maybe they should try turning everything on and off.
The only strategy that seems to be working is to fire people. Tech CEOs are suddenly channeling Marie Kondo, ordering and keeping only the people and projects that “spark joy” or at least support decent operating margins. Layoffs.fyi reports that tech companies have already laid off more than 122,000 people this year.