Is a layoff inevitable in this industry?

I’m a senior analyst at a development shop and have been in the industry for about 2.5 years.
I feel lucky that I haven’t been laid off yet, but I feel like I hear a lot of older heads talking about being laid off in their career or their career falling apart at some point, etc etc.

Do you think, in this industry, lay offs are inevitable at some point? Or do people generally stayed employed throughout a career in this industry.

 

Have been in the industry probably the same amount of time as you - but seems likely. Seems there's a lot of ups and downs, now being a down market with people/teams getting laid off. Many teams run lean tho so maybe they won't layoff, but you also see firms that emerged after 08 that grew and are now struggling with projects like Nightingale (much worse) /JDS/others and I'm sure have no problem laying people off anyway. Firms will do whatever they need to stay alive.

 

I don't think he means "are cycles of layoffs inevitable in this industry", but rather, do most people individually in this industry experience being laid off themselves during their career. Those are two quite different things. I am currently in consulting and i am interested in this question as well, as I'm trying to transition post MBA to CRE.

People here often use consulting as an example of another industry that experiences large cyclical layoffs. This is true - my firm just went through massive rounds of multiple layoffs by our standards over the last 12 months or so. Other firms in our business competitor mix laid off to a similar degree (think MBB/T2). Very importantly though, i never felt in danger of losing my job despite us ultimately losing 15% of our headcount... I'm a high performer who was reassured numerous times that i was safe. so i think its a good question by OP, and one that I've been meaning to ask.... regardless of performance, will one always be at the mercy of a down cycle in CRE? Is being laid off yourself inevitable?

 

I have never considered layoffs an inevitability in this industry nor do I expect to be laid off. Kind of a weird mindset to have IMO. 

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