As rumors spread that the US Federal Reserve would raise interest rates once more – and when that followed earlier this week – another round of cuts hit the tech sector. A stripe, Open door, Bell, Zillow, Cerebral, Brexand of course Twitter, by the wayhave already cut or are about to cut thousands of jobs.
That’s bad news for employees today, but it could be good news for the climate in the near future.
Before we get too far, let me say upfront that being fired is horrible and not something I would want to happen to anyone. Not knowing where your paychecks will come from or what benefits you’ll receive is difficult at the best of times and much worse when the economic signs are mixed or major life changes are asked. I’m not at all trying to minimize what people go through when they’ve been laid off. It’s happened to me and it sucks.
But layoffs also offer a chance for a fresh start. Even before the latest waves of layoffs began to flood the tech industry, people were leaving their old jobs for new opportunities in climate technology.
While this is a TechCrunch+ story, we’ve made sure the paywall is below the key links in case you’re looking for work. Hugs — The TC+ Team
“One thing we’re seeing is really, really strong talent leaving the bigger companies,” Erin Price-Wright, partner at Index Ventures, said at TechCrunch Disrupt,” because some of the financial upside for public tech companies, or maybe even late-stage tech companies, has evaporated over the past few months. And people say to themselves, “Well, I had these golden handcuffs, and it was preventing me from working on what I really care about. And I don’t have that anymore. So I’m going to take a risk and do something.”
Climate tech is booming compared to the rest of the market, with startups in the sector raising $5.6 billion in the first half of this year, down from the frenzied withdrawals of 2021 but still well ahead of 2020. , the next previous record, according to PitchBook. In five years, PitchBook anticipates the climate technology market to cost $1.4 trilliona compound annual growth rate of 8.8%.
All of these companies are in desperate need of talent. Almost every early-stage climate tech founder I’ve spoken to in recent months has gone out of their way to mention that they’re hiring. Climatebase job board has hundreds of jobs currently listed and this is just a fraction of the climate technology companies with active listings.
Sean Abrahamson, co-founder of climate-focused Third Sphere, pointed out that his firm’s portfolio companies are currently renting for over 400 positions. Breakthrough Energy Ventures portfolio companies are hiring nearly 1200 positions.
Elsewhere, around 100 companies use the platform for climate careers Terra.do to connect directly with candidates, Chief Business Officer Nishant Mani told TechCrunch. The startup often holds virtual job fairs to connect employees with employers, and business is booming. The platform’s user base is growing by 50% every month, and Mani aims to get 1,000 companies actively using the platform in the next six months.