Picture this. You're a software engineer in London.

3 years ago, you were competing for jobs with companies throwing six figure signing bonuses around like confetti.

Today, you're one of 90,000 tech workers laid off globally this year alone.

But here's the twist. While your friends are updating their LinkedIn status to open to work, the UK is simultaneously facing its most severe tech skill shortage in history.

How is that possible that in a market flooded with experienced talent, companies still can't find the right people they need?

The answer reveals a fundamental paradox at the heart of Britain's tech revolution.

It's reshaping everything from Silicon Roundabout to the highlands of Scotland.

This is episode 6 of my video series, Where to Run, where I discuss the best cities for mid to senior tech professionals to resettle after the pandemic and the layoffs of the past 2 years.

This video series is for tech professionals already living and working in the US, Canada, the UK, or the European Union.

If you're based outside these regions or in an outsourcing heavy market, the data in this video will not apply to your situation.

I do not cover immigration, international job hunting, or topics like how to break into tech without a college degree.

If that's what you're here for, this probably isn't the right channel, and that's okay.

But if you are operating within these markets, keep watching.

There's a lot ahead for various seniority levels and career tracks in tech.

Before we start, please give us a thumbs up.

We're working very hard to deliver the most accurate and honest information about the tech market in 2025.

And on today's episode, we've got the United Kingdom.

Over the past 3 years, the UK sector has experienced a dramatic way of layoffs.

Following a pandemic hiring boom, tech companies shifted to aggressive cost cutting due to falling profits, which resulted in widespread job losses.

The trend persisted into 2025 with over 90,000 layoffs recorded globally by May and projections suggesting the year could end with even more layoffs around 235,000.

In the UK, these layoffs have been concentrated in large tech firms and pandemic era hires.

But the impact has rippled throughout the sector, leading to a sharp 50% decline in tech job ads since prepandemic levels and the first drop in software developer employment since 2006.

However, while on one hand layoffs have created uncertainty and disrupted career stability, they have also prompted a shift in focus from rapid expansion to profitability and efficiency, which yes, are the two fancy words for smaller and leaner teams for businesses.

The turbulence has led to a more competitive job market with smaller firms and startups seizing the opportunity to attract experienced talent, but it has also exposed deeper structural issues in the UK's tech talent pipeline.

The wave of tech layoffs in the UK shows no signs of slowing in 2025 and this is still the turbulence we're going through after co which has now combined with geopolitical tensions.

Big names like Meta have cut jobs as part of their restructuring efforts.

Kasperski has also closed their UK office entirely blaming it on the geopolitical pressures.

The UK and London in particular is by far the largest tech hub in Europe and here are some examples of what it's produced.

The ARM chip, originally developed by Cambridge-based Acorn Computers in the 80s.

Its ultraefficient, low power architecture, became the backbone of the mobile revolution, powering over 95% of smartphones by 2010, including nearly every iPhone and Samsung device, and it continues to drive the internet of things today.

Then there is the fintech revolution where UKborn companies like Monzo, Starling Bank, Revolute, and Wise have reimagined what banking could look like.

mobile first, user centric, and radically more transparent than traditional finance.

As someone living in Canada, I can confirm it's hard to overstate how far ahead the UK is in the space.

Another standout is Dark Trace, a Cambridge founded cyber security company that pioneered the use of AI and machine learning for real-time threat detection.

It's now valued at over2 billion pounds and it's a global leader in autonomous cyber defense.

And finally, while YouTube is an American product, key breakthroughs in its mobile video infrastructure, from capture to upload to playback, were developed by UK-based product and engineering folks.

These innovations laid the groundwork for mobile video consumption as we know it today, fundamentally changing how billions of people create and interact with the content on the go.

Let's talk about the scale and impact of tech layoffs in the UK.

The tech industry globally has undergone unprecedented workforce reductions with UK emerging as the significant epicenter of these changes.

The layoff wave that began in 2022 has continued through 2025 reshaping the employment landscape in fundamental ways.

The global tech sector experienced massive layoffs totaling approximately 263,000 in 2023 representing a 59% increase from 2022.

in 2024 with 133,000 employees across 410 companies losing their jobs by mid year.

In 2025, layoffs continued with more than 22,000 workers laid off industrywide by May.

While the United States is an absolute leader with almost 116,000 tech jobs cut, the UK has emerged as Europe's largest center for tech workforce reductions.

A startling 97% of UK tech businesses reported making redundancies in the 12 months leading to late 2024, which signals a widespread industry restructuring rather than isolated corporate decisions.

Now, on to the major UK reductions and company responses.

Go-kartless reduced its staff by 20% in early 2025, bringing the staff size down from 764 to approximately 600 since 2023.

Fintech Unicorn Zeps cut about 20% of its global workforce, affecting around 200 employees.

Onfo's average headcount dropped by 19% to 224 employees as part of an operational expense review.

Tech giants with significant UK operations, including Meta, Amazon, and Microsoft have all conducted substantial workforce reductions as part of the global restructuring efforts.

Despite the challenging employment landscape, the UK sector has demonstrated remarkable resilience in attracting investment, maintaining its position as Europe's leading tech hub.

UK ranked as the second highest funded tech ecosystem globally in Q1 2025, raising an impressive $4.9 billion, which is a 44% increase compared to Q4 2024 and 26% higher than Q1 2024.

This performance placed the UK ahead of both Germany and France combined with UK startups raising similar funding to the total of Germany, France, and Spain in the same period.

The United Kingdom has maintained its position as Europe's leading destination for foreign direct investment in technology.

Health and life sciences startups emerged as the dominant investment category in early 2025, raising 1.8 billion in Q1, more than double the investment in any other sector.

Nearly half of all VC investment in health and life sciences went to AI powered startups, highlighting the growing convergence of healthcare and artificial intelligence.

UK tech firms overwhelmingly plan to invest in AI and generative AI technologies with 71% prioritizing this area in 2025 investment plans.

onto the structural changes in the UK tech ecosystem in the post-pandemic era.

There is a significant transition from the growth at all cost mentality that characterized the pandemic boom years to a renewed emphasis on profitability and sustainable business models.

And the most perplexing trend is what might be called the skills mismatch paradox.

Despite 97% of tech businesses implementing layoffs, 75% report difficulty recruiting staff with appropriate skills.

And lastly, onto the not so obvious trends reshaping the UK tech market.

The Brexit talent effect.

The combination of Brexit and tech layoffs has created a unique dynamic in the UK labor market.

Unlike the overall job market, which has returned to the prepandemic levels, tech hiring remains down to approximately 50% compared to prepandemic figures.

This suggests that Brexit may be influencing tech companies to invest and hire in EU countries where they can attract talent from across the block without complex visa processes.

Despite Brexit concerns and the layoff wave, London has maintained its position as the world's fourth ranked city for tech VC investment behind only San Francisco, Beijing, and New York and remains Europe's number one tech hub.

UK tech firms adopted employing monitoring tools at unprecedented rates with 81% using tracking technologies to combat quiet vacationing and productivity concerns.

However, this approach created a trust deficit.

While 61% of companies reported improved morale from monitoring, 65% simultaneously expressed concerns about long-term cultural impacts.

The sector now faces a delicate balance between operational oversight and preserving the autonomy that initially made hybrid models attractive.

Postpandemic hiring sprees masked a growing skills underutilization problem.

By 2025, 74% of UK tech employees reported lacking opportunities to apply their core competencies, leading to a 19% quiet quitting rate.

While 89% of UK tech leaders invested in AI systems by 2025, only 31% had retrained existing staff to work with these tools.

This created a shadow skills gap where employees watched their experience become obsolete while companies recruited externally for AI capabilities.

This resulting disengagement contributed to a 114% increase in AI related turnover between 2024 and 2025.

Quality of talent. The UK's tech talent landscape is marked by both exceptional quality and acute scarcity.

The country invests and promotes high demand areas such as artificial intelligence.

They're very big on cyber security and cloud computing.

But this very success has fueled explosive demand for specialized talent, outpacing the supply of skilled professionals.

Even with the UK's appeal to international tech workers, the most significant challenge is the chronic and growing tech skill shortage, which is worsened by the rapid acceleration in demand for specialized skills, particularly in fields that the UK is investing so much money into.

If what I just said sounds contradicting to you, because on one hand, the company's investing a lot of money in these areas. They're stimulating startups. They're stimulating R&D.

So, it may seem like, well, if so many people got laid off, what's your problem? You've got a massive pool of available workforce. Why not give them jobs?

Well, it's not that simple.

We're in the midst of an AI first transformation that is arguably the most significant technological revolution of our time.

Unlike the adoption of web 2.0 and the internet, which unfolded gradually over decades, AI is being integrated at an unprecedented pace and scale.

According to McKenzie's 2024 global AI survey, over 70% of organizations worldwide have adopted some form of AI, and the Gen AI market alone is projected to exceed 1.3 trillion by 2032.

The speed and breadth of AI's impact far surpass previous digital revolutions, fundamentally reshaping industries, economies, and the future of work in real time.

And on top of that, there is another paradox.

Despite widespread adoption, 69% of organizations had yet to see measurable returns from their AI projects.

The disconnect between the enthusiasm and outcomes is stark, and the gap lies in execution rather than ambition.

I urge you to read a little bit about OpenAI's 2024 profitability analysis.

Here's the report that was widely discussed in various data science communities last year, published by the company called Future Research in June 2024, claiming that only 15% of OpenAI's revenue came from API usage.

Now, I got to say that when this report was produced, it was an estimate, an unofficial estimate, and the data sources used for this report have been questioned by many.

Other resources such as industry newsletters and financial breakdowns estimated the API share to be between 15 and 27%.

Later, in September 2024, the information reported a leak from OpenAI and it suggested that the API revenue estimate published by the future research 3 months prior was fairly accurate.

Now, of course, these data points are unofficial and the OpenAI has not disclosed the revenue.

Nevertheless, if you choose to believe these findings, and 15 to 20% of OpenAI's revenue is attributed to APIs, there's your proof that even though there is a lot of hype and enthusiasm, we're still far from mass adoption and complete integration of artificial intelligence into businesses.

Domestic training and education efforts are underway, but have not yet produced enough homegrown talent to meet immediate needs.

As a result, despite being a global magnet for tech talent, the UK still faces intense competition for a limited pool of qualified professionals, both from within the country and internationally, leading to many roles remaining unfilled.

As I was doing the research for this video, I came across some very interesting data about the British education system, which I personally didn't know about before.

There are a few reasons why the UK is experiencing a skills gap.

Number one, low uptake in schools.

STEM subject participation remains a challenge.

Only a small proportion of students in England pursue STEM subjects beyond age 16.

Many schools over half in some regions do not offer computer science courses, limiting early exposure to technical fields.

Regional and socioeconomic disparities persist with disadvantaged areas seeing fewer students achieve highle STEM qualifications.

The government continues to fund adult education and tailored programs for learners age 19 and over.

There are a variety of paid programs and free training opportunities in IT, data, and technology.

However, completion rates and alignment with industry is still below what the government is expecting.

The government has invested significantly in STEM teaching and inclusion initiatives such as the programs to support girls in mathematics.

Women currently comprise only 15.7% as of March 2025 of UK engineers, which is down from 16.5% in 2023.

Nevertheless, despite increased government investment and new industry partnerships, England's domestic STEM and technical education pipeline is not yet meeting demand.

Low school uptake, regional and socioeconomic disparities, and persistent diversity issues continue to limit the supply of homegrown technical talent, leaving the UK reliant on both imported expertise and ongoing educational reform to bridge the gap.

The vibe. The UK fintech sector has generated billions in revenue and it's home to nearly a quarter of Europe's fintech unicorns and employs more people than the tech sector in Singapore, Hong Kong, Australia combined.

The UK and London in particular has the largest tech ecosystem in Europe.

Home to global companies and vibrant startup scene, it is a powerhouse in fintech and cyber security offering some of the highest tech salaries on the continent.

The city also provides fantastic networking opportunities, frequent industry events, and significant career mobility.

However, the benefits come at a price.

London has the highest cost of living and housing in the UK and one of the highest in Europe.

The job market is intensely competitive. The pace is fast and long commutes are common.

Manchester, the UK's second largest tech hub, boasts a fast growing digital economy.

While salaries here are lower than in London, the cost of living is definitely more affordable.

The city supports a strong startup and e-commerce scene.

Nevertheless, despite the growth, Manchester doesn't host nearly as many global headquarters as London.

Cambridge.

Cambridge is internationally renowned for its strengths in research, biotech, and deep tech.

It's home to major players like Google, Microsoft, Amazon, and a range of top tier startups.

Nevertheless, the housing costs are high relative to the city size.

There is one more trend when it comes to the vibe.

There is a noticeable trend of UK tech professionals exploring opportunities abroad, specifically within the UAE and Saudi Arabia.

The UAE's tech sector is promising growth in areas such as artificial intelligence, cyber security, and data analytics with significant government investments in initiatives such as the UAE AI strategy 2031 and Smart Dubai 2030.

However, I'd like to warn everybody that not everything that glitters is gold.

Check out my video about the post-pandemic and post layoff tax scene in the Middle East.

The UAE's ambition to become an AI powered economy by 2030 combined with aggressive recruitment and investment is drawing attention from the UK talent that is seeking challenges and higher compensation without brutal taxation.

Cost of living. When it comes to cost of living, the differences across UK tech cities are pretty stark.

While some places offer more balance and affordability, other trade higher pay for higher expenses.

Take a moment to compare housing, lifestyle costs, and what your salary actually gets you in each city because sometimes the best job offer on paper does not go nearly as far once you factor in rent and everything else.

Once again, this data is based on expenses of a mid to senior tech worker such as a data scientist, product manager, or a software developer.

I do not take into account things like family expenses because those can vary wildly.

Conclusion. So, where does this leave us?

The UK tech scene in 2025 is essentially two contradictory stories happening simultaneously.

On one hand, you have a matured ecosystem that's produced some of the world's most innovative companies.

From the ARM processors in your phone to the fintech apps revolutionizing how we bank.

On the other hand, you have a system struggling to keep pace with its own success.

The layoffs aren't just about economic cycles.

They're symptoms of a deeper transformation.

We're witnessing the growing pains of an industry caught between the old world of move fast and break things and the new reality of show me the ROI.

Meanwhile, the skills gap isn't just about the numbers.

And that's a wrap for the UK.

Next up is Switzerland.

Please give us a thumbs up and subscribe to stay tuned.

As always, I hope this was helpful.

Till next time.

Bye.