Big Tech Layoffs: Ex-Google, Meta, Microsoft Employees On Job Hunts, Thousands Of Applications & Starting Over

A Google job. A Meta badge. A two-decade career at Microsoft or Intel. For years, these were shorthand for having 'made it' in tech. But four professionals who once held exactly that kind of security say losing it upended their finances, their sense of identity and everything they assumed about job stability.

The layoffs came without warning

Business Insider has interviewed four tech professionals from Meta, Google, Intel, and Microsoft who were laid off. Brittney Ball, 37, spent nearly five years as a documentation engineer at Meta, earning around $180,000 a year. She had taught herself to code using library resources and free online tutorials, and getting hired at Meta felt like validation of that effort. The news of her layoff reached her while she was dropping her children off at school.

Jason Zhang, 25, had worked as a software engineer at Google for three and a half years, pulling in more than $200,000 annually, and expected to stay with the company long-term. He learned he had lost his job in a meeting with his manager and HR.

For Sriram RamKrishna, 57, a 23-year run at Intel earning about $180,000 ended when his entire business unit was shut down in July 2025. Joe Friend, 62, who spent 23 years at Microsoft as a product manager on a $250,000 base salary, only realised something was off after being left out of a meeting with senior leadership.

Months of job hunting, thousands of applications

The report details just how long and gruelling the search for new work turned out to be for each of them. Zhang stayed unemployed for three months despite sending out roughly 30 applications. RamKrishna had expected to land something within half a year; a year after his layoff, he was still looking. Ball's search stretched far longer still, she says she submitted more than 8,000 applications trying to get back into the workforce.

Savings drained, plans derailed

The financial fallout was substantial across the board. Ball dipped into her savings, sold off stock holdings and leaned on her parents for support, and is now planning to relocate from Washington.DC to Charlotte to cut down on living costs. RamKrishna overhauled his spending habits to cope with the loss of income. Zhang says the layoff has pushed back his plans to buy a home and to support his parents' retirement.

Healthcare added another layer of strain. Another axed employee said his family was shelling out close to $2,600 a month for medical coverage after losing the insurance that came with his job.

Rethinking what comes after big tech

The experience appears to have reshaped how all four think about the industry that once defined their careers. Some are now focused on building personal brands, while others have moved into consulting or launched their own startups, per the report.

Across the four accounts, a common thread emerges - a high paycheque and a marquee employer offered no real protection from the axe.

Published on: Thursday, September 03, 2026, 11:12 AM IST