UCSF says it is following what its competitors have already done and has to lay off the workers to cut costs.
Source: UCSF Lays Off Tech Workers, Stepping Into Jobs Outsourcing Controversy | News Fix | KQED News
While this kind of thing has been happening for years–I’ve seen it going on in the last two decades–it does seem to be getting worse. While this focuses specifically about a case happening with an American research university and their IT workers, it directly affects technical communication workers as well. Some of us are included in the IT departments, some are not, but we’re all directly affected. When layoffs happen, it’s always the consultant/contractors that go first, and in tech comm, that makes up a good portion of our workforce.
I’ve been told that sometimes I’m too panicked about the state of the tech comm workforce because of my own struggle to find long term work, but the more I talk to other technical communicators who are often also contractors, they are feeling the stress as well. It’s articles like this that further my argument that if we can’t keep up and be adaptable, and prove our worth in the market, all the jobs–at least in the U.S.–will go elsewhere. This is not to say that other countries should be able to create new jobs to build their economy, but there’s a point where if all the jobs are exported elsewhere, what’s left for us?
What do you think? Is this just another layoff story, or is it a foretelling story of things yet to come? Include your comments below.
–TechCommGeekMom
TechCommGeekMom 