The technology industry cut close to 186,955 jobs in 2008, up 74.2 percent from the 107,295 job cuts recorded in 2007, according to data collected by Challenger, Gray & Christmas, a recruitment company based in Chicago. The firm claims that job cuts soared 167 percent in the second half of 2008 and the velocity of cuts is going to increase in 2009. With Microsoft (s msft), Ericsson (s ericy), Sprint (s s), AMD (s amd), and Corning (s glw) announcing tens of thousands of job cuts in January, we would have to unfortunately agree with their conclusions. Still, the total numbers aren’t expected to match 2001 when  announced layoffs in the sector totaled 695,581. “Tech workers who remain in demand right now are those who have cross-discipline knowledge and experience.  For example, an IT professional with accounting and finance skills will be better positioned than someone with only programming skills,” said John Challenger, chief executive of the recruitment firm. In other words, you can either be a corporate renaissance person or just jack-of-all-trades to survive this downturn. (Related post: The Very Human Cost of Job Cuts.)