Well, it looks like the gravy train has come to a screeching halt, and employers are gleefully tightening the purse strings. The era of throwing money at talent to lure them in is officially over. The corporate world is now flexing its muscles, pulling back on those inflated salaries that became the norm when the job market was hotter than a jalapeño. If you thought those sweet six-figure offers were here to stay, think again.

The paychecks for white-collar newbies took a nosedive last year, and now it seems blue-collar sectors like construction, manufacturing, and food service are following suit. According to ZipRecruiter.com, wages in these industries are sinking faster than the Titanic. Job seekers, once confident in their worth, are now staring at job postings offering tens of thousands less than what was advertised just a year ago. Welcome to the new normal, where companies are relocating roles to cheaper cities or downgrading them to contractor gigs—because, hey, why pay more when you can get away with less?

This shift in salary structure is more than just a reaction to the cooling job market; it’s a calculated power play by employers. They’re realizing they don’t need to break the bank to attract top talent. After all, why pay for a star when a sturdy workhorse will do fine? Even those hourly jobs that were once the hardest to fill are now being advertised with lower pay as companies start to question the necessity of those pandemic-era bonuses and incentives. Tom Locke, a McDonald’s franchisee, is a prime example. He’s slashed his signing bonuses and is now seriously considering dropping hourly wages from $13 to $12—because who needs a happy workforce when you can cut costs, right?

Locke’s situation is becoming the norm, with labor expenses surpassing food costs for the first time in his 24 years at McDonald’s. While he insists, he wants everyone to do well in America, the bottom line is all about managing those “cost pressures.” It’s the classic corporate problem: caring for employees, but only until it starts to hurt the profit margin.

The white-collar world isn’t immune to this pay reset either. Candidates like Eric Joondeph have watched in horror as the salaries for roles they’ve been eyeing drop little by little. Joondeph, based in Boise, Idaho, has seen jobs that once promised $80,000 to $100,000 now offering barely $60,000. It’s enough to make you wonder if companies are purposely targeting less experienced candidates just to shave a few bucks off the payroll.

Some companies are even taking the concept of “geographic arbitrage” to the next level, relocating jobs overseas where they can pay workers a fraction of what they’d shell out in the U.S. Why hire a data analyst in San Francisco when you can get one in Mexico or Poland for a lot less? The strategy is becoming increasingly popular among Fortune 1000 companies, with some moving jobs from pricey cities like Chicago to more affordable ones like Cincinnati. Keith Sims, the president of a recruiting firm, says he hasn’t seen such a determined effort to slash salaries since the 2009 recession.

In the tech world, sky-high salaries are waning, except for a few roles requiring specialized AI skills. Jill Hernstat, a tech recruiter, confirms that most candidates are seeing lower offers than they would have two years ago. Hiring managers, it seems, are now relishing their regained control over salary negotiations.

Even former high-fliers like Kate Ball, who spent eight years at Amazon, are feeling the pinch. After being laid off, she’s been approached for similar roles—only now they’re offering up to 65% less pay. It’s a far cry from the days when companies were tripping over themselves to attract talent with generous compensation packages. Now, Ball has watched as job postings she applied for are re-advertised with significantly lower salaries than before. She gets it—businesses need to save money—but these short-sighted tactics could come back to bite them when the market shifts again. After all, people will take a job now out of fear, but loyalty built on low pay doesn’t last long.