CareerPMI Croatia — Job Market Intelligence

Tech Layoffs Hit Zagreb: Startups Cut a Third of Their Workforce

IT companies in Croatia have reduced their workforce by 30% in the last month due to lack of investment.

Zagreb's tech sector is experiencing its worst layoff crisis since the start of the pandemic, with the latest data showing that IT startups have laid off as many as 30% of their employees in the last month. Social media analysis reveals that junior and middle-level programmers are particularly struggling to find new jobs, while companies are drastically cutting recruitment budgets. HZZ records an 18% increase in registered unemployed in the tech sector in just the first two weeks of March.

The crisis has particularly affected fintech and e-commerce startups that relied on external financing, while established tech companies like Infobip and Rimac Grupa remain relatively stable. The cause lies in a dry season for venture capital investments and increased interest rates that have forced investors to be cautious. Additionally, larger European corporations are pulling tech projects from the region, leaving the local workforce without alternative options.

For job seekers in the tech sector, this situation means a dramatic change in strategy – instead of choosing between offers, they must now prepare for a months-long search with increased competition. Salaries for new hires have fallen by 15-20% compared to last year, while working conditions are deteriorating with increased working hours and reduced benefits. Those with less than 3 years of experience are particularly affected, finding themselves in the most unenviable position in the market.

Despite the general tech crisis, cyber security and DevOps positions show strength with continuous demand and salaries that remain competitive. The pharmaceutical industry in Zagreb is actively hiring IT profiles for process digitization, offering stability that tech startups currently cannot provide. The banking sector also remains a safe haven for experienced developers seeking long-term security instead of startup adrenaline.

First Job

Luka M.

Luka represents a generation of computer science students and recent graduates facing an unprecedented shift in the tech job market. Having entered university during the peak of tech's golden age, when software engineering carried enormous social capital and promised lucrative, comfortable careers, he now finds himself graduating into a dramatically different reality. This cohort came of age during the era when being a software engineer was seen as a guaranteed path to financial success. They've been more strategic than previous generations, diligently practicing LeetCode problems and following industry best practices, believing these efforts would translate into the dream jobs their predecessors secured so easily. Now, as layoffs dominate headlines and entry-level positions become scarce, Luka and his peers are discovering that their carefully laid plans may need dramatic revision. The proliferation of bootcamps and the flood of CS graduates has created an oversupply just as demand contracts, leaving many wondering if the academic landscape will shift away from computer science as quickly as it embraced it.

I remember seeing an article about a university having more CS grads than all other liberal arts degrees combined.

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Job Searching

Petra K.

Petra faces a dilemma that's becoming increasingly common in today's uncertain economic climate. She has friends who want to transition into tech as developers, drawn by the promises of good salaries and job security that seemed so abundant just a year ago. Now, with recession clouds gathering and layoffs dominating headlines, she's struggling to give them honest advice. The landscape has shifted dramatically from the developer shortage of 2022, when companies were desperate enough to hire junior developers and provide extensive training. Now, with hiring freezes spreading across the industry, Petra is witnessing a fundamental change in employer priorities and bargaining power. She's wrestling with the ethical question of whether to encourage career switchers when the market dynamics have fundamentally changed. The tension between junior developers being cheaper to hire versus senior developers requiring less training and delivering immediate value has become a critical factor in a tightening job market.

We're most likely heading to a recession, and in that scenario hiring would slow down considerably but not probably not completely stop.

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Career Change

Marko S.

Marko, a software engineer working in Germany, finds himself questioning the fundamental structure of his career despite earning a good salary. The recent wave of tech layoffs has crystallized a troubling realization - even as a well-paid professional, he remains fundamentally working class, entirely dependent on his employer's whims. Living in Germany where tech jobs are concentrated in expensive big cities, Marko watches his dream of homeownership slip further away despite his technical skills and steady income. He's investing a few hundred euros monthly in ETFs, but the math doesn't add up for building real wealth through traditional employment alone. The layoffs across profitable tech companies have exposed what Marko sees as a coordinated effort to suppress worker market value, leaving him feeling trapped in a cycle of selling his time rather than building lasting assets. He's considering starting his own business but admits he doesn't feel experienced enough yet, leaving him searching for alternative paths to financial independence.

It feels like as long as I am primarily and employee, I will never 'make it'.

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📷 Ron Lach

Job SearchingZagreb

Marko Horvat

Mladi diplomirani ekonomist iz Zagreba koji se bori s pronalaskom prvog posla nakon fakulteta, suočen s niskim plaćama i visokim zahtjevima poslodavaca.

Diplomirao sam prošle godine, a još uvijek živim kod roditelja jer ne mogu naći posao koji bi mi omogućio samostalan život.

mladi_nezaposleniprvi_posaoekonomski_fakultet

📷 www.kaboompics.com

EmployedSplit

Ana Marić

Iskusna inženjerka iz Splita koja je zaposlena u turističkoj industriji, ali razmišlja o emigraciji zbog boljih mogućnosti razvoja karijere i većih plaća u inozemstvu.

Radim kao inženjer u Splitu već pet godina, ali vidim da se moji vršnjaci u Njemačkoj razvijaju brže i zarađuju tri puta više.

inženjeremigracijaturistička_industrija

📷 cottonbro studio

FreelancerRijeka

Luka Babić

Uspješan freelance web developer iz Rijeke koji je izgradio međunarodnu klijentelu i pokazuje da se u Hrvatskoj može ostvariti uspješna tech karijera.

Kao freelance developer iz Rijeke radim za klijente diljem svijeta i zarađujem više nego većina mojih prijatelja u korporacijama.

freelancerweb_developmentdigitalni_nomad

📷 ThisIsEngineering

EmployedZagreb

Petra Novak

Mlada inženjerka u automobilskoj industriji koja se bori s predrasudama i stereotipovima, ali odlučno gradi karijeru u muški dominiranoj branši.

U automobilskoj industriji sam jedna od rijetkih žena inženjerki, ali svaki dan dokazujem da pripadam ovdje.

žena_inženjerautomobilska_industrijajednakost_spolova

📷 RDNE Stock project

EntrepreneurSplit

Tomislav Jurić

Ambiciozni poduzetnik iz Splita koji kombinira turizam i tehnologiju, razvijajući inovativne rješenja za hrvatsku turističku industriju.

Pokrenuo sam svoj turističko-tehnološki startup u Splitu jer vjerujem da Hrvatska može biti više od samo sunca i mora.

startupturizamtehnologija

📷 EqualStock IN

EmployedRijeka

Mirjana Kovač

Iskusna državna službenica iz Rijeke koja se pomirila s niskom plaćom u javnom sektoru zbog sigurnosti posla, ali je svjesna ograničenja svog izbora.

Radim u javnom sektoru 15 godina, plaća je mala ali bar je sigurna - u ovim godinama to je važno.

javni_sektorniska_plaćasigurnost_posla

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💰 Salary Benchmarks — EUR