You cannot generalize.
Some companies lean towards keeping coops; some lean towards keeping “regular” interns. It’s pointless to speculate-- every single recession has had its own quirks and labor patterns.
Who remembers a time when PhD’s in math were driving taxis? I do. That was before the rise of algorithmic trading, high speed computing, sophisticated leverage and commodities strategies. So there was almost no market for a PhD in math besides teaching (oversaturated at that moment) and the occasional need for actuarial modeling or risk management at an insurance company or credit card company.
Who remembers when software engineers and programmers were working as substitute math and science teachers in elementary schools?
These aren’t tales from the ancient past. Every pullback hits different sectors of the economy. There are no silver bullets so to tell your kid that coops are “safe” and internships are “risky” is a fool’s errand.
I remember one point in 2007/early 2008 when anyone who could spell “securitization” could get a job (well into 6 figures). I’m exaggerating a bit- but I remember sitting through meetings wondering how we were going to make our hiring targets. Then Lehman/Bear Stearns etc. Despite the fact that there would still likely be a need for these folks- huge institutions just cut their entire teams- laid off within days.
Too hard to predict these things.