From Crypto to Couch: Tech Designerâs Layoff Odyssey
Melody Koh, a 28-year-old product designer from Germany, spent nearly a decade in tech startupsâfrom crypto hype to fintech busts. She recalls the 'work-hard, play-hard' days with team lunches and trips, now replaced by 'layoffs becoming common' and pay cuts. After being laid off in May 2025, Melody landed a contract gig in e-commerce, hoping to escape the tech industry's spiraling 'efficiency push' doom loop. She sarcastically notes the old innovation now feels like mimicking dĂ©jĂ vu, lamenting that founders were once 'more generous with their funding.' Spoiler: tech is no fun start-up party anymore.
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Tech industry: where innovation graduates to copy-paste, sandwiches disappear, and 'job stability' becomes a mythical creature. Melodyâs decade-long tour through startup layoffs and pay cuts is the new normalâwe're all terrible drivers on this broken carousel.
Remember when startups threw team trips and free lunches like confetti? Now itâs just layoffs and efficiency hacksâlike turning your dream job into a part-time nightmare.
Tech jobs used to feel like an exclusive rollercoaster; now it's more like a slow, creaky shutdown of the ride. Melody's resigning from the merry-go-round, who can blame her?
Source: Businessinsider | Published: 8/19/2025 | Author: Charissa Cheong
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