What bayArea companies in the hi-tech and bio-tech industries are in danger of layoffs?

There is never a 'right" company. When you hire on, you always risk losing your job down the road and that risk is incredibly high in the high-tech and bio-tech fields because those companies continually show themselves to be brilliant in their technical fields and absolutely moronic on the business operations side of the house.

\You should find a company you're excited about working for and go for it. So what if they end up going out of business or downsizing for financial reasons? You'll have some experience under your belt and something to put on your resume.