No industry has been spared – from Crypto.com’s recent layoffs to Southeast Asia Group’s e-commerce arm Shopee reducing its workforce across food and payments business units. Even global companies such as Tesla have also shuttered down local operations and non-income performing departments.

But as in any economic downturn, not all businesses are affected equally. Profitable and cash flow-positive businesses are in a good position despite changes in consumer demand. Prudent tech startups with strong unit economics will continue to attract funds and therefore are likely to continue hiring.

On the flip side, early-stage companies that do not have a strong cash position or are very dependent on liquidity (i.e. Buy Now, Pay Later (BNPL), credit or lending) or inventory holding businesses like retail, and e-commerce will be negatively impacted.

It is uncertain how long the bearish environment will last with the United States Federal Reserve just announcing its highest interest rate increase since 1994, inflation across countries expecting to continue, and a recession may happen any day now.

In Southeast Asia, we are seeing tech companies preparing and taking various measures to adjust to this current climate. And despite the current economic situation, tech talent remains attractive and highly sought after. Startups and enterprises that are in a solid financial position have the opportunity to take advantage of the current tech talent pool.

We have recently seen large cuts across the board by edtech firm Zenius, fintech company Lummo and e-commerce company JD.ID. Overall, a wave of companies is cutting back on non-revenue generating roles.

Yet, roles such as engineering, data science, and product roles continue to be in high demand. These tech talents are now being offered 20-25 percent salary increments from 15-20 percent in the current climate.

Despite the offers with significant pay increases, high-quality talent are wary or meticulous about accepting them. This is because some startups who conducted mass hiring before this market correction are now conducting mass layoffs. However, strong talent will do their due diligence and will gravitate towards companies who are prudent and profitable.

We are also expecting more employers to implement fixed-term contracts (e.g. one-year contracts), for example. We also see companies shifting to hiring on a project basis where possible. For smaller or bootstrapped companies in Indonesia, now is the time to hire talent from top tech companies that are downsizing or reducing their workforce.

We believe that an entire talent ecosystem should not be just once-off job matching, but a platform that can support both talented professionals for their lifelong career development, and companies who are looking for the right members of their team who are aligned with their business goals.

So, what’s next?

We believe that cross-border remote work will continue to be a trend. On our platform alone, we saw remote work listings grow by 3 times year-on-year (yoy) as employers globally shift to a more borderless and are increasingly interested in hiring Southeast Asia talent. In fact, remote job opportunities on the platform have increased 10 time yoy.

This does not mean, however, that employers are on a mass hiring spree. Albeit, they are hiring smartly in alignment with their business strategy – whether it is increasing operational cost optimization or maintaining the ability to act on opportunities while future-proofing their business.

In the end, we believe the current layoffs to be a correction in the market rather than a long-term trend. Given Southeast Asia’s strong macros as a digital-first region, increasing middle class, and strong local tech talent, we remain positive that Indonesia will continue to be a market to bet on.

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The writer is cofounder and country manager at Glints.