AI boom leaves thousands of San Francisco tech workers jobless, community group swells to 1,700

Even as OpenAI and Anthropic employees anticipate windfalls from potential IPOs, Bay Area tech layoffs hit over 14,500 workers in the year ending June, nearly double the prior year. Former Google employee Basem Istanbouli started un(PTO) in December to support unemployed tech workers, and the group has grown from three founding members to more than 1,700, with weekly hikes now drawing crowds of 80 or more.