About nine thousand tech workers in the Seattle area have lost their jobs in the past year. That could be nine thousand people competing for a shrinking pool of tech jobs. 

This year started off with the most layoffs we’ve seen in a January since the Great Recession, and the lowest hiring on record. Many companies are now citing artificial intelligence in their layoff announcements.

On today's episode, where have all the laid off tech workers gone? And what can the rest of us learn from the first shock in the AI earthquake?

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Booming is a production of KUOW in Seattle, a proud member of the NPR Network. Our editor is Carol Smith. Our producers are Lucy Soucek and Alec Cowan. Our hosts are Joshua McNichols and Monica Nickelsburg.

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