NIGHT MARKETS AND FARMERS MARKETS THAT ORGANIZERS WOULD NEED TO APPLY FOR ONCE A YEAR. >>> TECH LAYOFFS HAVE HIT THE BAY AREA ECONOMY HARD THIS YEAR, BUT THERE'S NEW SIGNS THE JOB CUTS MAY BE SLOWING DOWN. THE MERCURY NEWS IS REPORTING TECH COMPANIES FILED WARNINGS FOR MORE THAN 5,000 BAY AREA JOB CUTS IN THE SECOND QUARTER BETWEEN APRIL AND JUNE, DOWN NEARLY 50% FROM FIRST QUARTER LAYOFFS. META WAS ONE OF THE COMPANIES RESTRUCTURING IN THE POST PANDEMIC ECONOMY, CUTTING MORE THAN 1,000 BAY AREA JOBS IN MAY WITH ADDITIONAL LAYOFFS IN THE FOLLOWING MONTHS. OUR MAX DARROW SPOKE TO ONE OF THOSE LAID OFF META EMPLOYEES WHO HAS SINCE FOUND NEW WORK. HIS STORY SHOWS WHY YOU MAY HAVE TO PIVOT A BIT. THERE ARE JOBS OUT THERE. >> Reporter: WHILE HE'S STILL FINE TUNING HIS NEW ROUTINE, HECTOR GARCIA IS HAPPY WITH HIS NEW EMPLOYMENT SITUATION WORKING AS A DATA ARCHITECT FOR ABBOTT AT THEIR ALAMEDA CAMPUS. >> I'VE BEEN HERE FOR SIX MONTHS. >> Reporter: HE'S NEW AT A COMPANY THE FIRST A LONG TIME. GARCIA WAS LAID OFF FROM META AFTER BEING WITH THE COMPANY TEN YEARS. >> IT GIVES YOU THE OPPORTUNITY TO KIND OF REASSESS WHAT YOU'RE LOOKING FOR. >> Reporter: AFTER A THREE-MONTH JOB SEARCH, GARCIA ENDED UP AT ABBOTT, A COMPANY SPECIALIZING IN HEALTH TECHNOLOGY. >> I'M DOING SOMETHING A LITTLE BIT DIFFERENT. >> Reporter: THROUGHOUT HIS JOB SEARCH HE FOUND AS MAJOR COMPANIES LIKE META, GOOGLE, SALESFORCE AND MORE CUT THOUSANDS OF JOBS, OTHER COMPANIES, SOME SMALLER, SOME IN DIFFERENT SECTORS, WERE EAGER TO BRING IN NEW TALENT. ABBOTT, FOR EXAMPLE, HAS HIRED MORE THAN 200 TECH-SPECIFIC EMPLOYEES IN THE PAST SIX MONTHS AND A COMPANY SPOKESPERSON SAYS THEY PLAN TO HIRE HUNDREDS MORE IN THE COMING YEARS. >> I ENDED UP HAVING TIMES WHERE WE HAD INTERVIEW PROBABLY BACK TO BACK FROM DIFFERENT COMPANIES ON SOME DAYS. I KNOW THE BIG TECH COMPANIES ARE THE ONES PEOPLE HAVE IN MIND THE MOST, BUT THERE'S PLENTY OF JOBS OUT HERE AS FULFILLING AND REWARDING AS THE ONE YOU HAVE OVER THERE. >> THERE ARE JOBS, BUT THERE MIGHT BE DIFFERENT JOBS. >> Reporter: BARBARA ROSEN IS WITH KORN FERRY, A GLOBAL CONSULTING FIRM. SHE SAYS THERE ARE LOTS OF SMALLER TO MIDSIZE FIRMS ACTIVELY LOOKING TO HIRE PEOPLE COMING FROM THE BIG TECH COMPANIES. >> THEY'RE GROWING. THEY'RE NOT DOWNSIZING. THEY HAVE REALLY AGGRESSIVE GOALS AND SO THEY'RE PICKING UP SOME PEOPLE THAT YOU KNOW WHAT? THEY MIGHT NOT HAVE CONSIDERED. >> Reporter: HOWEVER, SOME HAVE IT TOUGHER THAN OTHERS. >> I DO THINK THERE ARE ROLES THAT ARE MORE DIFFICULT. SOME OF THE MARKETING ROLES ARE HARDER, SOME OF THE SUPPORT TYPE OF ROLES. >> Reporter: GARCIA FEELS FOR EVERYONE ELSE WHO HAD THE RUG PULLED OUT FROM UNDER THEM, BUT SHARED THIS. >> DON'T BE SCARED. IT'S GOING TO GET BETTER. I KNOW IT MIGHT BE A HARD TIME FOR YOU, BUT ALSO IT'S A GOOD OPPORTUNITY FOR YOU TO NOT LET THE CURRENT TAKE YOU. >> Reporter: A YEAR AGO HE WOULDN'T HAVE GUESSED HE'D BE HERE, AT A NEW JOB, AT A COMPANY WITH A VERY DIFFERENT FOCUS, BUT EVEN THOUGH THE ROAD HERE WAS A BIT BUMPY, HE'S HAPPY WITH THE DESTINATION. >> I ENDED UP BEING IN A PLACE THAT I LOVE TO BE WORKING ON AND THAT'S I THINK WHY IT WAS WORTH IT. >> Reporter: A GOOD MINDSET AS HE DOES HIS PART TO FURTHER TECHNOLOGY THAT WILL IMPROVE PEOPLE'S LIVES. >> THE EXPERT FROM KORN FERRY DID NOTE MANY CLIENTS SHE WORKS WITH LAID OFF FROM MAJOR TECH AR COMPANIERUS NN
