'We'll always be here to have your back' — Unemployed workers find community and shared commiseration on hiking trails amid mass Bay Area layoffs

These unemployed strangers gather for weekly hikes in search of what many say has disappeared along with their jobs: community.

The hiking group, called "(un)PTO," began as a small meetup by former Google employee Basem Istanbouli after he lost his job in January 2025 (1). Since then, however, the group has exploded in popularity, with recent hikes drawing dozens of participants and one hike attracting more than 90 people. (2)

What is (un)PTO all about?

The hiking group's Instagram bio (3) describes it as "a Bay Area community for the laid off, the in-between, and the starting over."

"Layoffs keep happening, but we'll always be here to have your back," a post from late April (4) shares.

In 2026 alone, California companies including Meta, Salesforce, Google, Workday and Pinterest have announced significant layoffs as the tech industry adjusts to economic uncertainty, AI-driven restructuring and years of overhiring during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Technology companies let go of more than 85,000 employees through the end of April in 2026, marking a 33% increase compared to last year, according to outplacement firm Challenger, Gray & Christmas (5).

And for workers across all sectors, tech or otherwise, the layoffs have created more than financial anxiety. They have dismantled routines, identities and social circles. Careers can often forge friendships — and shape daily life, at large — so unemployment can be deeply isolating.

Research (6) suggests that unemployed individuals have an at least 40% increased likelihood of reporting loneliness. In fact, they're almost twice as likely to report feeling lonely compared to the general population — and that loneliness can create a self-reinforcing cycle, ultimately exacerbating their risk of future unemployment.

"This is an extremely stressful time for people when they're getting laid off, when they're in these career transitions," Istanbouli told ABC (7). "And oftentimes, you don't have people to commiserate with or go through it with you."

Community is, therefore, what makes these Bay Area hikes so meaningful.

Every Monday, hikers meet at a new Bay Area trail. The routes are intentionally manageable — usually around five miles — so conversations can unfold naturally along the climb. Some people swap job-searching horror stories, while others exchange networking tips.

Beyond organizing hikes, according to the group's official website (8), they "swap job leads, support each other through the search, and show up beyond the usual networking grind."

Participants have described the hikes as therapeutic, comparing the gatherings to a support group for people navigating sudden professional loss. One hiker, Alexa Barnes, told ABC that it is "heartening to be all together."

Another hiker, Matt Tarchick, said the hikes have already helped him to land "two or three more interviews."

Photos from the hikes show groups ruminating along reservoirs and pausing at scenic overlooks above Silicon Valley itself — campuses of companies that once promised stability and opportunity. The irony is hard to miss. Many participants are rediscovering slower rhythms outside of tech culture's relentless productivity mindset.

Istanbouli told reporters that unemployed workers often feel pressure to spend every waking hour applying for jobs, even though persistent stress can become counterproductive. Hiking together offers them permission to pause.

How else can you create community during unemployment?

What has emerged in the Bay Area is not simply a networking group, but an alternative social infrastructure built around shared uncertainty. The weekly treks offer emotional support, solidarity and escape with something uniquely Californian: healing through movement and nature.

After all, in a region renowned for innovation, it's fitting that laid-off workers are reinventing unemployment, too — not inside mastermind courses or motivational seminars, but along trails.