Hi, I’m Katie Malone, and this is Innovation Wire by Technical.ly. We send this newsletter every two weeks, covering local trends in AI, tech, startups, entrepreneurship and jobs of the future.
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Today we’re talking about the rise in tech jobs layoffs and its relationship to ageism and AI.
Tech layoffs in the US are on the upswing again. The number of eliminated positions could hit 322,000 by year’s end, per TrueUp projections. That’s about 30% higher than last year’s total.
While pressures are widespread, layoffs are hitting workers at the beginning and end of the career ladder especially hard. Entry-level hiring is down 73% year over year, according to HR tech firm Ravio. The cause is at least partially economic headwinds, plus companies that overhired in 2021 and 2022 shedding that overinvestment.
Even if AI isn’t “taking jobs,” it’s likely playing a role. First, it gives employers cover to use the language of “efficiency” during layoffs. But there are other factors too.
For entry-level workers, anxiety over AI is straightforward. Why hire a recent grad, some employers seem to ask, when AI tools can already do parts of the job? For older workers, AI seems to amplify biases. Workers say it reinforces stereotypes that they are less adaptable. And cuts higher up the chain are a chance to save more cash, compared to someone making entry-level pay.
Rozell Kenney, 68, told me her layoff came down to one thing: “I was the highest-paid person.”
Soon after, she said, the company asked her to return as a consultant. The pattern is common, she said. Kenney hosts workshops that help adults learn to use basic tech and AI tools, and has seen other experienced employees go through the same cycle: get cut from full-time benefits and job security, then be brought back on contract when their institutional knowledge is needed.
Ayanna Smith, 53, told me she followed along as a colleague laid off after three decades took 18 months to land another role, despite strong networking connections. “It has to be my age,” Smith recalled them thinking.
That fear is not unfounded. The EEOC has found that age and pay issues show up disproportionately in high-tech discrimination complaints. Investigations like ProPublica’s reporting on IBM suggest youth has long been treated as a proxy for innovation.
In the workplace, admitting you don’t know something can carry a higher cost for older adults. I talked about this catch-22 with Kenney. Because older workers are often stereotyped as less adaptable, less flexible, or less current, a moment of uncertainty may be read as a symptom.
Smith says the idea that older workers are less enthusiastic about AI doesn’t match what she’s seen. In her experience, younger colleagues were often the ones more hesitant to embrace AI, sometimes citing the environmental costs of data centers, which has been turned into an advocacy movement that sometimes lacks effective calls to action. Broadly, though, Pew data still suggests younger adults are “slightly more” excited about AI than older ones.
For now, the corporate rush toward AI, and the job market shifts coming with it, suggest that the safest place in tech may be the middle rung of the ladder.
At 39, the industry’s average worker sits in a kind of sweet spot: experienced enough to offer valuable skills and institutional knowledge, but not yet likely to be viewed as too old, too expensive or too difficult to retrain.
Another angle:
“When AI automates routine tasks, organizations often find they need experienced employees who can combine AI capabilities with years of business knowledge. What those organizations don’t need is entry-level employees learning the basics.”
How has your career journey and reputation changed with age? Hit reply and let me know.
Technical.ly headlines of the week
3 things to know
🏔️ A new frontier: The Air Force is eyeing Alaska as a home for next-gen AI data centers, with potential sites now on the table and public tours set for later this month. [DAF]
💲 Audits on autopilot: South Carolina residents have a new scapegoat if their tax returns get audited. South Carolina’s tax department is rolling out AI to speed up return reviews. [Post and Courier]
🤫 A quiet win for consumers: Oklahoma residents are gaining new data rights: starting next year, businesses must let people access, correct, delete and download their personal data. [StateScoop]