Tech Companies Misread Pandemic and Laid off Employees, Says Intuit CEO

According to Sasan Goodarzi, the CEO of software giant Intuit, companies and CEOs have miscalculated the long-term impact of the pandemic, resulting in mass layoffs through 2022 and 2023. Goodarzi argues that companies have mistakenly assumed that COVID-19 has brought about structural changes instead of one-off, events-based changes. Companies grew during the pandemic; however, Goodarzi notes that they are now seeing a slowdown, and they do not need all the cost structure. He also disputed the notion that fake work led to these mass layoffs, as he did not believe that companies hired people to do nothing. Goodarzi believes that these layoffs have unsettled the remaining star talents in major tech firms, primarily in AI. On a promising note, hiring has become easier because of all the tech layoffs, as it has caused uncertainty. Goodarzi believes that layoffs have encouraged people who would not have looked for work to raise their heads.