Consolidation is expected after a recession and like the new economy didn't really change the rules, the new recession didn't change them either. Like expected, small fish are currently being swallowed by big fish (i.e. Verity buys Cardiff) and going forward we will see the big fish being eaten by the even bigger fish.
Last year a Towers Perrin and Gang & Gang study showed that tech workers view their employers in an increasingly negative light - most employees in IT and engineering don't seem to be all that satisfied. Donald Lowman of Towers Perrin, said "Organizations may face real risk when the economy improves and top talent begins looking for greener pastures elsewhere."

Now must be the time Donald was referring to. We have seen some signs of an improving economy and companies start to hire again. San Diego based Qualcomm for instance held its first job fair since 1997 this month, drawing an estimated job seekers crowd of some 7000. Engineers burned by the dot-com-bubble seem to avoid risky moves and gravitate towards well known huge businesses.

Then, there is Andrew Binstock of course, principal analyst at Pacific Data Works LLC and columnist for the Software Development Times, telling every engineer who wants to hear and everyone else too, to get out of Software Development and get out now. He wants us to totally concede to the guys in India. Andrew writes "Offshoring is a reality. Time should not be wasted denying, decrying or deriding it. That time is truly lost. Spend the time adapting ... if you want to be coding, then you need to make important moves soon to assure your ability to continue programming. Your first option is to seek work at small businesses that are not candidates for offshoring."