We are seeing more and more accounts of companies hiring back software developers after massive layoffs. How many of the layoffs are said to be because of AI, what’s the reason given for rehiring and at which career level is the rehiring taking place? And — do the fired developers want to come back?

So yes, in recent months, the firing trend in tech has continued.

Examples: the Amsterdam startup let go 10% of their staff in June, saying that many sales and support roles were to be replaced by AI.

Expedia, as a travel company in our field of expertise, laid off 3% of their workforce in April, most in tech roles.

Granted, not all were directly attributed to AI. Some say just 1.4%. Some is corrective action taken after the tech hiring spree of the pandemic. Didn't stop there, however. About 80 thousand in the first half of this year.

But the trend seems to be reversing. In June, recruiters in India were seeing an uptick in requests for software development jobs, up manyfold today. If anything is a measure of increased demand, its Indian devs.

Another example is Pollen, another travel company. Specialised in events. They laid off 200 employees in 2023, after a substantial investment round. Now they are quietly rehiring, focusing on senior roles they recently let go. Apparently, they feel AI is not capable of the product innovation needed in the fiercely competitive travel tech world.

We as a small software development company are enthusiastic early adopters of AI. But as we have found to our distress, AI isn’t quite what it’s cut out to be. Why I think it's no substitute for experience and insight is a subject of another post. But maybe it’s more important to realise that decision-makers often aren’t that interested in the reality of building software. If it impacts the bottom line they are all too willing to strike off jobs. And now that reality hits, they want them back.

But do fired tech workers want to return? Not so much. Many experienced developers have had little trouble finding new jobs, others quickly discovered the advantages of consulting or creating their own startups. Some becoming effectively the competitor of their former boss.

But there’s more. The EuroStack initiative, launched in 2024, aims to make the EU digitally independent of countries such as the US or China. The budget? A staggering 300 billion euros.

Given the number of tech personnel needed for the transition to digital sovereignty, we expect a grand surge in hiring across the coming years. It’s expected that 60 million new jobs will be created in all, with the tech sector taking up a substantial part.

Waves of massive firings are more indicative of management failures than of the waning need for highly skilled professionals. As our means of production becomes more digitised, AI more consolidated, the need for tech roles will only grow. Brace for it.