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<HTML>Friday 29 June 2001
Waves of layoffs swamp Ottawa startups
Smaller firms won't be able to absorb tech giants' castoffs much longer: OCRI
Vito Pilieci
The Ottawa Citizen
Ottawa startups have snatched up more than 6,000 laid-off workers from the recent wave of staff cuts in the city's technology sector, a new survey shows.
But with more layoffs anticipated at Nortel Networks and JDS Uniphase, industry experts say the smaller companies won't be able to sustain such hiring for much longer.
Bill Collins, president of OCRI Economic Development, said yesterday it would be "not very long" before the startups reach saturation.
The research and development organization's semi-annual technology employment survey, released yesterday, shows the number of Ottawa technology workers has fallen to 75,000 from 79,000 in January in the face of more than 10,000 layoffs.
"Ottawa is home to 1,000 advanced technology enterprises," Ottawa Mayor Bob Chiarelli said.
"Not surprisingly, when those corporations respond to market conditions by laying off workers, we feel the effects."
When the layoffs started, talent-starved startups tried to grab any and all available workers. Now, things are different.
"There were a number of startups that were in hiring mode, but a lot of those have built their teams and there are less startups out there acquiring," said Alan Kearns, president of TalentLab, a technology recruiting firm. "A lot of people are having to expand their horizons and look at a broader area, look at Toronto, Waterloo, Calgary ... or to the U.S."
Companies still hiring are looking for people with "very specific" experience in emerging technologies such as wireless communications or photonics, he said.
Mr. Kearns said one client who six months ago would never have considered leaving Ottawa but is now pondering a move to Montreal to find work.
Less than six months ago almost anyone with a technology background could find work in Ottawa.
But at last week's career fair at the Corel Centre, only 18 companies were recruiting -- for only 130 positions.
In January, a job fair had 90 companies with booths and banners seeking employees for thousands of jobs.
But OCRI is optimistic.
"We have seen tremendous growth in Ottawa over the past few years," Mr. Collins said. "Although there is a slowdown, the prospects look promising.
"I think we are going to see more small business development in this community than we have seen in a long time."
To gather its information, OCRI contacted 1,000 small, medium and large technology employers in Ottawa. The organization said about 85 per cent of those contacted responded to the survey.
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Waves of layoffs swamp Ottawa startups
Smaller firms won't be able to absorb tech giants' castoffs much longer: OCRI
Vito Pilieci
The Ottawa Citizen
Ottawa startups have snatched up more than 6,000 laid-off workers from the recent wave of staff cuts in the city's technology sector, a new survey shows.
But with more layoffs anticipated at Nortel Networks and JDS Uniphase, industry experts say the smaller companies won't be able to sustain such hiring for much longer.
Bill Collins, president of OCRI Economic Development, said yesterday it would be "not very long" before the startups reach saturation.
The research and development organization's semi-annual technology employment survey, released yesterday, shows the number of Ottawa technology workers has fallen to 75,000 from 79,000 in January in the face of more than 10,000 layoffs.
"Ottawa is home to 1,000 advanced technology enterprises," Ottawa Mayor Bob Chiarelli said.
"Not surprisingly, when those corporations respond to market conditions by laying off workers, we feel the effects."
When the layoffs started, talent-starved startups tried to grab any and all available workers. Now, things are different.
"There were a number of startups that were in hiring mode, but a lot of those have built their teams and there are less startups out there acquiring," said Alan Kearns, president of TalentLab, a technology recruiting firm. "A lot of people are having to expand their horizons and look at a broader area, look at Toronto, Waterloo, Calgary ... or to the U.S."
Companies still hiring are looking for people with "very specific" experience in emerging technologies such as wireless communications or photonics, he said.
Mr. Kearns said one client who six months ago would never have considered leaving Ottawa but is now pondering a move to Montreal to find work.
Less than six months ago almost anyone with a technology background could find work in Ottawa.
But at last week's career fair at the Corel Centre, only 18 companies were recruiting -- for only 130 positions.
In January, a job fair had 90 companies with booths and banners seeking employees for thousands of jobs.
But OCRI is optimistic.
"We have seen tremendous growth in Ottawa over the past few years," Mr. Collins said. "Although there is a slowdown, the prospects look promising.
"I think we are going to see more small business development in this community than we have seen in a long time."
To gather its information, OCRI contacted 1,000 small, medium and large technology employers in Ottawa. The organization said about 85 per cent of those contacted responded to the survey.
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