Portland tech worker with over 2 decades experience at Intel was laid off in July, and then his wife lost her job. Are your finances shock-proof?

To make matters worse, on the day of Ramkrishna’s departure, his wife lost her job, too.

In an as-told-to essay for Business Insider, he said the months-long job hunt has been “challenging,” but it will be “a while before I start panicking about finances” (1).

In addition to his severance package, the couple has a savings cushion. Plus, even with increased job competition, Ramkrishna says he feels better prepared than before.

This isn’t the first time Ramkrishna has dealt with a layoff in his career. In fact, he worked at Intel from 1996 to 2016. Ramkrishna also says he has a stronger sense of his interests and skills, as well as an extensive support community with former Intel employees and professional connections.

But even with these strengths, Ramkrishna admits it will take “luck and timing” to land a new job.

“If an employer I'm interested in posts a job, there's bound to be at least 400 applicants. I've had to find a way to stand out, especially when going through the front door doesn't feel like a viable option,” he said.

The race to reduce costs reshapes tech

Unfortunately, Ramkrishna’s situation is becoming all too common as Big Tech companies continue to announce massive layoffs.

Recent data from the executive outplacement firm Challenger, Gray & Christmas showed that technology companies have some of the highest job cuts in 2025, with 153,536 between January and November, up 17% from the 130,701 announced through November 2024 (2).

Besides Intel, major companies like Amazon, Alphabet, and Meta have all announced job cuts from various divisions. Unsurprisingly, AI is one of the most commonly cited reasons for layoffs this year.

Major CEOs like Klarna’s Sebastian Siemiatkowski aren’t hiding that AI will change things dramatically.

“I feel a lot of my tech bros are being slightly, you know, not to the point on this topic. I think there is a massive shift coming to knowledge work. And it’s not just in banking, it’s in society at large,” Siemiatkowski said in an interview with Bloomberg Television (3).

Challenger’s data also says “cost-cutting” is a major reason behind the latest wave of job cuts. Of the firms Challenger tracked, it found that employers cited slimming costs for 50,437 layoffs in October.

Unsurprisingly, these extreme layoff figures translate into higher competition among job seekers. Christine Cruzvergara, the chief education officer at the career social network Handshake, told PBS their data shows overall jobs are down 15% compared to 2024, yet applications have gone up by 30% (4).

So, even with decades of experience and sterling credentials, the combination of cost-cutting and intense competition is making the job hunt longer and tougher.

Protecting your wallet in a weak job market

A major takeaway from Sriram Ramkrishna’s story is the importance of building a solid savings stash.

Standard advice is to set aside at least three months of wages in an emergency fund, but remember that Ramkrishna has been looking for work for over four months.

Given the greater uncertainty in the current job market, it’s safer to increase these emergency savings to the upper six-month range, especially if people feel they’re in industries more sensitive to trends like automation.

While employed, prioritize paying off high-interest debt ASAP, which could be suffocating if income stops. Remember, just because you lose income doesn’t mean debt payments go on pause. By reducing your required monthly payments ASAP, you’ll create more breathing room during a period of unemployment.

For help with saving and debt repayments, consider downloading a money management app. Online trackers can give you detailed insights into your cash flows so you feel more control over building a solid budget. A money management app can also help separate out essentials, which is helpful if you need to slim down costs after a job cut.