Tech’s Bust Delivers Bruising Blow to Hollowed-Out San Francisco

Job cuts and remote work are colliding to reshape the center of American innovation.

Tech Layoff Wave Is an Outlier in Robust US Job Market

San Francisco’s Salesforce Tower opened almost five years ago as a monument to the region’s tech-driven economy, piercing the skyline as the tallest office building on the US West Coast. It symbolized a boom for the city’s downtown, alongside a new futuristic transit center and an elevated park spanning nearly four blocks.

On a recent afternoon, just a smattering of people walked the park’s trail, some of them tech workers wearing badges and company-branded clothing. Nearby restaurants were open, but without the lines that once snaked out the door.