While pursuing a career as a singer-songwriter in Southern California, Emily Stein did what a lot of aspiring artists do. She waited tables at a nightclub until she was laid off in mid-March.
"It's extremely painful," she said.
Stein lost her apartment and had to move back in with her mom in El Cerrito.
"I'm a young adult and I've been on my own since I was 17-years-old and I don't want to have to rely on other people," she said.
RELATED: Coronavirus and the new normal of living in the San Francisco-Bay Area -- COVID-19 Diaries
But layoffs are currently a way of life under COVID-19.
Here are just a few Bay Area based companies that have announced big job cuts recently:
Uber is laying off 3,700 workers
Lyft is cutting 982 positions
Airbnb is laying off 1,900 people -- and we don't know how many local workers are affected at those three firms.
We do know that the Oakland A's are laying off nearly 800 people.
The San Francisco Giants are cutting 1,200 jobs.
RELATED: Coronavirus: Return to work planning underway at East Bay-based Blue Shield of California
Bon Apetit Restaurant Management is laying more than 1,500 workers in San Francisco.
"I think in the short term there are going to be some sectors that are going to have trouble coming back even under the best public health response," said UC Berkeley Public Policy and Economics Professor Jesse Rothstein.
Rothstein says that includes restaurants and other small businesses.
But he says even powerhouses like Uber, who thought treating drivers as independent contractors made them less susceptible to lay-offs, are finding that's not true in this pandemic.
But experts warn that even when things quiet down, somethings may never go back to the way they were.
"Set your expectation that the return to the office is not going back to your old job," according to Randall Micek with job placement firm Robert Half.
He says there will be less travel, more working from home and even those who do work in offices will find fewer people and more social distancing.
RELATED STORIES & VIDEOS:
- COVID-19 Help: Comprehensive list of resources, information
- INTERACTIVE TIMELINE: How close was CA to becoming a NY-level crisis?
- Live updates about coronavirus outbreak in US, around the world
- What will it take to get a COVID-19 vaccine and how will it be made?
- How California's COVID-19 cases stack up against other hot spot states
- Everything you need to know about the Bay Area's shelter-in-place order
- Coronavirus Timeline: Tracking major moments of COVID-19 pandemic in San Francisco Bay Area/
- List: Where can I get tested for COVID-19 in the Bay Area?
- COVID-19 Diaries: Personal stories of Bay Area residents during novel coronavirus pandemic
- Coronavirus Doctor's Note: Dr. Alok Patel gives his insight into COVID-19 pandemic
- What does COVID-19 do to your body and why does it spread so easily?
- Stimulus calculator: How much money should you expect from coronavirus relief bill
- WATCH: 'Race & Coronavirus: A Bay Area Conversation' virtual town hall about COVID-19 impact on Asian American community
- WATCH: 'Race & Coronavirus: A Bay Area Conversation' virtual town hall about COVID-19 impact on African American community
- What Bay Area tenants need to know about rent payments, eviction amid COVID-19 outbreak
- Here's how shelter in place, stay at home orders can slow spread of COVID-19
- Symptoms, prevention, and how to prepare for a COVID-19 outbreak in the US
- List of stores, companies closing due to coronavirus pandemic
- Canceled late fees, free services available amid COVID-19 crisis
- Here's how you can help during COVID-19 pandemic
- How to maintain learning during school closures
- No masks but here are 100+ products that may help protect you against novel coronavirus germs
- Here's a look at some of history's worst pandemics that have killed millions