The world of Big Tech is never a quiet one, and lately the news has been filled with mass layoffs and poaching of top talent. But according to Sasan Goodarzi, CEO of Intuit, the software giant, tech firm layoffs have made it easier to poach star talent even when they still have jobs. Intuit, known for products such as Mailchimp, TurboTax, and CreditKarma, has been deeply investing in artificial intelligence since Goodarzi succeeded longtime CEO Brad Smith in 2019.
Goodarzi, who shadowed Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella during his multibillion-dollar investment with AI-maker OpenAI, believes that the instability caused by tech layoffs is making it easier to recruit quality engineers who understand the importance of AI. He noted that it is easier to draw the attention of talent who might not be actively pursuing new opportunities.
Industry experts have warned that the large-scale layoffs of major tech firms, including Alphabet, Metra, Microsoft, and Amazon, are causing morale issues for employees who still have their jobs and preventing potential talent from applying for roles. Employees who are uncertain about their situation are actively looking for more stable employment, according to Vijay Govindarajan and Anup Srivastava of the Harvard Business Review.
Intuit has taken a different approach, however, with no large-scale layoffs to date. The company had 17,300 employees as of July 2020, up from 13,500 the previous year. Intuit is reporting strong figures for its second quarter of 2020, with net income of $168 million and revenues of $3 billion, up from $2.7 billion. While the company declined to provide specific figures on AI hires, they emphasized that the technology has been applied to millions of customer interactions and predictions.
Overall, it appears that the tech industry is increasingly more attractive to potential talent who are dissatisfied with the instability of their current positions. Intuit’s continued success and growth without any mass layoffs demonstrate that there are alternatives and that quality AI talent can still be found in these uncertain times.
