Paul Brown used to work for a tech startup in Sydney, providing software to the police and other emergency services — until last week.
The 65 year old IT worker was surprised to learn that he had been retrenched, after just 19 months on the job.
But he’s not alone. Dozens of his colleagues were also laid off, as the company underwent a bruising round of cost-cutting.
This trend is occurring worldwide as Australia’s Reserve Bank, the US Federal Reserve and other central banks embark on an aggressive rate hiking cycle, making it more expensive for high-growth tech companies to borrow money to fund their rapid expansion and hiring sprees.
“There has been a round of lay-offs in fintech, startups and pre-IPO companies,” said Mr Brown, who has worked as an enterprise architect, and managed tech companies in previous roles.
“So there’s been a movement to reduce the burn rate, and preserve capital.”
In the past few months, more than 1,000 jobs have been cut at more established international companies, like Netflix, Twitter and buy-now pay-later firm Klarna.
One of the world’s biggest cryptocurrency exchanges Coinbase said it was sacking 1,100 workers, or 18 per cent of its staff, as its CEO warned of an economic recession.
Peloton eliminated 2,800 jobs and replaced its CEO in February, as the company misjudged the staying power of the exercise-at-home trend.
In Australia, several startups including Voly (grocery delivery), Brighte (buy now pay later), Envato (online marketplace), HealthMatch (clinical trials) and Zepto (payments platform) have reportedly made significant job cuts this year.
Meanwhile, digital-only bank Volt is closing down, after failing to secure extra capital to fund its expansion, which has led to its 140 employees needing to find new work elsewhere.