<p>Major technology companies that saw an explosion of growth during the early part of the coronavirus pandemic are bleeding thousands of jobs as high interest rates and a slowing economy turn against the industry.&nbsp;Amazon, Meta, Twitter, Stripe and a slew of other Big Tech firms have announced layoffs over the past month, all citing a decline in revenue and a deteriorating outlook for the global economy. &nbsp;</p> <p>Silicon Valley powerhouses saw their stock prices and payrolls soar throughout most of the past two years. Propelled by low interest rates set by the Federal Reserve and a glut of pandemic stimulus, tech companies rode a steady wave of consumer spending in online retail, streaming services and other products to major stock gains.&nbsp;</p> <p>But the heyday for Big Tech has come crashing down, along with the values of some its high-flying stocks. The tech-heavy Nasdaq composite is down 28 percent on the year after reaching record highs before the Fed began hiking rates in March.&nbsp;</p> <p>“As the market is going back and forth between if the U.S. economy will actually fall into a recession or not, people are taking a look at the more economically sensitive sectors and trying to understand what could do well and what may not do well if a recession is coming,” said Callie Cox, an investment analyst at online investment platform eToro.&nbsp;</p> <p>“If you put all this together, it’s not a great environment for big tech at the moment.”</p>