Utah tech companies are struggling and laying off workers after years of meteoric growth. In the year In 2022, at least 15 Utah companies — 11 in the last three months of the year, or “Q4″ in corporate-speak — will lay off workers, according to tech tracker layoffs.fyi.
Even workers at Silicon Slopes’ so-called “unicorns” — privately held companies valued at more than $1 billion — aren’t safe. Two e-commerce companies, Line and Podium, began layoffs in December. Pluralsite, which sells online training courses, has laid off 400 people, about 20% of its workforce.
The downturn is being felt not only in Utah, but across the US tech sector. But the Bee State is unique in that tech workers make up a higher percentage of the workforce than the national average, according to the University of Utah’s Kem C. Gardner Policy Institute — so the tech sector here could be hit harder than a downturn. another place.
In Utah County, home to much of Utah’s tech industry, unemployment stood at 2.2% in November, in line with the statewide rate, according to data from the Utah Department of Workforce Services. That’s significantly lower than the 3.7 percent national rate in November. But Utah County’s unemployment rate is above the 30-year low of 1.7% recorded in March.
Governor Spencer Cox said his office knew higher interest rates would lead to a downturn in Utah’s tech sector. And at a news conference on December 15, he said he expects more layoffs in the new year.
“There was a lot of money being thrown around and these valuations in technology were astronomically high for companies whose products weren’t yet profitable, right?,” he said, “… [t]A cap always poses a problem if capital becomes expensive, which is what happens when interest rates rise.
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