It then details broader trends in the Seattle region — decreased retail spending in tech-heavy districts; restaurant closures; a cooling housing market; commercial real estate vacancies; and service businesses such as moving companies seeing slowdowns. Microsoft employed around 54,000 people in the Seattle region before this year’s cuts. What’s happening in Seattle is a study of a tech-heavy economy transforming as many tech jobs disappear or are upended by AI. The tech industry accounts for a whopping 30% of the economy in the Seattle region, according to a report from CompTIA. The WSJ story ended with two examples of former tech workers who were laid off and launched their own endeavors.