Gen Z are digital natives raised within the period of YouTube, Tumblr, Instagram, and Fb; and now, they’re among the strongest AI customers of their private {and professional} lives. However Silicon Valley tech corporations seeking to make waves with AI aren’t holding onto the digitally savvy era—as an alternative, they’re actively boxing them out.
The share of younger Gen Z workers between the ages of 21 and 25 has been minimize in half at know-how corporations over the previous two years, in accordance to current knowledge from compensation administration software program enterprise Pave with workforce knowledge from greater than 8,300 corporations. These younger staff accounted for 15% of the workforce at giant public tech companies in January 2023. By August 2025, they solely represented 6.8%. The scenario isn’t fairly at massive non-public tech corporations, both—throughout that very same time interval, the proportion of early-career Gen Z workers dwindled from 9.3% to six.8%.
In the meantime, the typical age of a employee at a tech firm has risen dramatically over these two and a half years. Between January 2023 and July 2025, the typical age of all workers at giant public know-how companies rose from 34.3 years to 39.4 years—greater than a 5 yr distinction. On the non-public aspect, the change was much less drastic, with the standard age solely growing from 35.1 to 36.6 years outdated.
Millennials are presently ruling the tech business and clinging to their roles because the economic system is rocked by uncertainty as a consequence of tariffs, inflation will increase residing bills, and AI swipes jobs. In the meantime, entry-level Gen Zers are simply hoping to get their careers off the bottom.
“Should you’re 35 or 40 years outdated, you’re fairly established in your profession, you have got abilities that you understand can’t but be disrupted by AI,” Matt Schulman, founder and CEO of Pave, tells Fortune. “There’s nonetheless numerous human judgment whenever you’re working on the extra senior degree…Should you’re a 22-year-old that was once an Excel junkie or one thing, then that may be disrupted. So it’s nearly a story of two cities.”
Schulman factors to some explanation why tech firm workforces are getting older and locking Gen Z out of jobs. One is that massive corporations—like Salesforce, Meta, and Microsoft—have gotten much more environment friendly because of the arrival of AI. And regardless of their hovering trillion-dollar earnings, they’re chopping workers on the backside rungs in favor of automation. Entry-level jobs have additionally dwindled due to AI brokers, and stalling promotions throughout many businesses seeking to do extra with much less. As soon as know-how corporations weed out junior roles, occupied by Gen Zers, their workforces are certain to rise in age. And consultants inform Fortune that spells numerous hassle for innovation and long-term enterprise stability.
Why Silicon Valley’s workforce is getting older—and what the long-term impacts are
The speedy disappearance of Gen Z at giant know-how corporations is a canine whistle to what’s actually going behind the scenes—AI is automating roles, from entry-level upwards. However what’s worrying about their presence disappearing sooner at giant public corporations is the truth that early profession pipelines are being fully disrupted. And so they’re typically the companies with sufficient fairness to put money into these Gen Z-targeted expertise initiatives within the first place.
“Most public corporations have fleshed out coaching packages which might be squarely centered round new grad packages and college recruiting,” the Pave CEO, with early-career expertise at Fb and Microsoft, explains. “An organization like Meta, their complete expertise thesis was to go after universities, get the good 21-year-olds, after which prepare them up. It’s simply not as related as a paradigm for personal corporations.”
Jeri Doris, chief individuals officer at software program firm Justworks, tells Fortune workforce reductions have created a tough barrier for Gen Z. Companies are striving to do extra with much less, chopping entry-level roles and striving for AI automation to avoid wasting on headcount prices. Mass firings have wiped complete company departments throughout the U.S., as corporations introduced greater than 806,000 job cuts from January by means of the tip of July this yr, in line with a report from Challenger, Grey & Christmas. It’s a 75% spike from the roughly 460,000 reductions introduced by means of the primary seven months of final yr.
“Mass tech layoffs and a discount in entry-level jobs means it’s tougher for Gen Z to seek out open roles to use for,” Doris explains. “On the flip aspect, Gen Z is prioritizing versatile working, job stability and work-life steadiness—one thing the tech business might not be capable of provide—in order that they’re making use of to roles in several industries.”
As hundreds of Gen Z are shut out making a reputation within the business—even simply getting a foot within the door—there might be critical long-term impacts. Within the close to future, many CEOs might espouse the money-saving potential of automating entry-level jobs. However trying 10 or 20 years forward, when know-how corporations’ present millennial staff progress in direction of senior roles, there’s the query of who will take over their mid-level jobs. If Gen Z don’t have the chance to study from the bottom-up, there presents a significant problem of stifled innovation and a scarcity of expertise able to step into these positions.
Pave CEO Schulman makes use of gross sales roles for example: “There’s a really linear, structured path that exists throughout like nearly each tech firm. You begin doing the junior-level outbound sourcing work, then you definitely change into a mid-market account govt, then you definitely change into an enterprise vendor. Enterprise sellers, in my view, won’t be disrupted by AI anytime quickly.”
“Enterprise sellers are nonetheless wanted, however you’re eradicating the roles beneath them on that profession hierarchy. How are we going to coach the way forward for enterprise sellers, in the event that they aren’t going by means of the traditional steps to get there?”
How Gen Z tech business hopefuls could make the very best of the scenario
Whereas the scenario seems scary for Gen Zers seeking to get a job at a tech agency, consultants inform Fortune they need to leverage the property they’ve. Being new to the business may even work to their benefit.
“[Companies] can rent a 21, 22-year-old that has not been brainwashed by years of company America. And as an alternative, can simply break the principles and leverage AI to a a lot larger diploma with out the hindrance of years of bias,” Schulman says. “I do suppose there’s a new crop of those younger ones which might be simply actually leveraging AI maximally.”
To be a extremely sought-after employee on this AI-automated period, which means being “manically” centered on all the brand new fashions that come out. Gen Z ought to research how one can immediate chatbots extraordinarily successfully, and even create bespoke fashions for his or her strains of labor. Priya Rathod, office traits editor for LinkedIn, additionally tells Fortune that the younger professionals shouldn’t hand over on the tech business. As an alternative, they need to rethink their path inside it—upskilling and taking over new profession pathways is usually a robust level of entry. Fortunate for Gen Z, they don’t have to return to varsity to get an upper-hand within the expertise market.
“Constructing abilities by means of certifications, gig work, and on-line communities can open doorways,” Rathod recommends. “Roles in UX, AI ethics, cybersecurity, and product operations are promising entry factors. As an alternative of ready for alternatives, they need to create them—by means of freelance tasks, networking, and showcasing work on-line.”
“Employers are more and more rethinking conventional diploma necessities. For Gen Z, the proper certifications or micro credentials can outweigh a scarcity of years on the resume. This helps them keep aggressive even when entry degree alternatives shrink.”
