The 2003 anime film is a mesmerising visual companion to Daft Punk’s iconic 'Discovery' album
Tech workers lament that their firms now increasingly resemble the established corporate outfits they once sought to differentiate from. - Photo: iStock
Most trace these changes to the end of 2022, when tech giants like Google and Meta realised the pandemic-driven boost to digital services would not last. As economic uncertainty mounted, layoffs started. In hindsight, the signs were there. Thomas’ team had been reassigned to new, lower-down-the-value chain work a few months before, and he began noticing cuts to employee perks.
A CNN analysis found that between 2019 and 2022, Meta and Google’s parent company Alphabet had increased their headcount by 103 per cent and 64 per cent respectively. Big tech had misjudged the sustainability of its growth – and employees were paying the price. Among big tech firms in Singapore, Microsoft and Amazon stand out as exceptions when it comes to flexible work arrangements. Microsoft has not implemented a companywide mandate, while Amazon chief executive officer Andy Jassy has announced a five-day return to office starting in 2025.
Lance says a colleague’s request for remote work outside of Singapore for family reasons was approved before this cut in flexibility, while his manager’s request for the same reasons was rejected – meaning those who cannot comply with a return to office might have to leave altogether. “I think these are part of a larger move to push employees to quit as a cost-cutting measure, rather than the company having to conduct a costly layoff,” says Alex.Another top-of-mind issue for many workers is the clampdown on business travel.
John , who has worked at Amazon and left Microsoft earlier in 2024 after five years in technical sales, described the state of the industry as grim. “Regular trips to the US, to feel like you’re part of something bigger, have been slashed. It’s all remote and impersonal now,” says John. “I would not have entertained roles outside tech prior to these changes. But now I am happier, and the compensation is comparable. It’s not like people are being overpaid in tech any more,” he adds.
“No explanation was provided to us, and our regional leadership kept telling us it was just an Excel sheet exercise; it was pure luck. They were just hitting a target, it was not personal.” “During the pandemic, we expanded like crazy. I don’t think the expansion was thought through, and that was the crux of the problem,” she adds. She says that following the layoffs, there was a rise in office politics and bitter infighting over overlapping responsibilities among teams.
Perks like gourmet coffee and business travel may matter more to those earlier in their careers, but the loss of career progression and pay raises hurts one’s quality of life in the longer term, says Chen. Unlike earlier years of double-digit growth, big tech firms now operate in a more hostile regulatory and public environment. The backlash against the biggest tech companies has reached such heights that a new term has risen to describe it: techlash.
Mitra says the company’s unusual approach of encouraging staff to dedicate 20 per cent of their time towards side projects that could become company innovations created an environment of bottom-up change and ownership. In the years since, however, Google has shed its “don’t be evil” motto – a slogan calling for the company to avoid exploiting users – and clamped down on employee activism.
At the heart of these challenges is a long-standing perception that TikTok – despite being headquartered in Singapore and Los Angeles – has a Chinese centre of gravity. “Even with the potential for layoffs looming in tech, I think other industries aren’t able to offer me as competitive a remuneration package,” he adds. “This also comes from a position of personal privilege – since I do not have any financial liabilities, my priorities now are less about stability.”
Goodbye Big Tech Big Perks Workers Global Techlash Come For Their Benefits
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