Google announced that it paused hiring for two weeks, stating the need “to enable teams to prioritize their roles.” Other major tech companies have also announced layoffs; Netflix, for example, has fired more than 450 employees since May.

Why should we care?
In recent years, the tech sector’s performance has become a stand-in for larger economic well-being across industries. Bluechip giants wield enormous influence on economic perceptions as some of the most valuable companies in the world; when media outlets focus on declines in consumer spending reported by companies like Apple, and when other Silicon Valley players lay off employees by the thousands, then smaller companies consider a downturn imminent. They then face a fork in the road. Either they pare back their ambitions by backing out of digital-forward expansions, whether through e-commerce channels or other initiatives; or they lean into their ambitions, and approach economic stagnation as an opportunity to solidify their fundamentals through tech-driven solutions. Fintechs might witness both of these responses from SMB clients simultaneously—seeing fewer clients, but enjoying deeper commitments from clients who stay steady, helping them modernize their financial toolkits and processes.