The Bay Area tech sector’s gains from the pandemic have nosedived into a bust.

“In the last half of 2020, and throughout 2021 and the first part of 2022, the major Bay Area technology firms went on wild hiring sprees that were never sustainable,” said Michael Bernick, an employment attorney and a former director of the state Employment Development Department.

In that time, tech companies have fundamentally shifted their hiring strategies, said Russell Hancock, president of Joint Venture Silicon Valley, a San Jose think tank.

The contrast between the boom and the subsequent bust in the Bay Area is stark, according to seasonally adjusted industry totals that Beacon Economics culled from the Employment Development Department.

“Tech employment has been on a roller coaster since the pandemic started in 2020,” said Scott Anderson, BMO Capital Markets’ chief U.S. economist and managing director.

The plunge has affected the jobs of tens of thousands of workers, including employees at a slew of industry icons.