A number of tech companies have announced cost-cutting measures in recent months, with Alphabet, the parent company of Amazon, Apple and Google, all announcing a hiring slowdown or freeze.
For the tech sector, the pandemic boom has turned into a post-pandemic collapse, with rising interest rates hurting stocks and inflation weighing on earnings.
The sector cut 9,587 jobs in October, hitting its highest monthly total since November 2020, according to data from consulting firm Challenger Gray & Christmas cited by Bloomberg.
Total job cuts announced by US-based employers in October increased 13% to 33,843, the highest since February 2021, according to the report.
meta
Facebook’s parent company announced in November that it would cut 13% of its workforce, or more than 11,000 jobs, in one of the biggest tech layoffs of the year to combat a sluggish advertising market and rising costs.
Meta said it would cut 13% of its workforce, or more than 11,000 employees, in one of the biggest tech layoffs this year.
Like its peers, Meta hired aggressively during the pandemic to respond to the surge in social media usage by homebound consumers.
But the pandemic’s boom times have faded as advertisers and consumers stopped spending in the face of skyrocketing costs and rapidly rising interest rates.
After investing billions in CEO Mark Zuckerberg’s vision for the Metaverse, Meta is facing rising costs and shrinking profits.
Meta, once worth over $1 trillion, is now worth $256 billion after losing over 70% of its value this year alone.
In a message to employees, Zuckerberg said, “Not only has online commerce returned to its previous trend, but the macroeconomic downturn, increased competition and the loss of advertising signals have also pushed revenue far beyond expectations. is below
“I got this wrong and I take responsibility for it.”
Zuckerberg delivered tough news about job cuts in a call with hundreds of meta executives
In a short phone call, a red-eyed Zuckerberg spoke to the employee but didn’t answer questions.
He stuck to a script that closely followed the wording of the morning’s blog post, calling the increased investment in e-commerce “a big mistake in planning.”
Following its $44 billion acquisition by Elon Musk, Twitter laid off half of its workforce across teams ranging from communications and content curation to product and engineering.
About 3,700 employees affected by the layoffs learned their fate in an email last week.
However, Bloomberg reported that Twitter has reached out to dozens of employees who have lost their jobs and asked them to come back.
Twitter laid off half of its workforce across teams, from communication and content curation to product and engineering
Musk has previously said he had no choice but to impose mass layoffs because the company is losing hundreds of millions of dollars each year and needs a financial overhaul.
Salesforce
In January, cloud-based software company Salesforce announced it would furlough 10% of its workforce, or about 8,000 employees.
CEO Marc Benioff cited rough times for the tech sector and the overhiring during COVID-19 that led to the decision.
A few weeks ago, the company quietly laid off hundreds of employees.
“Our sales performance process fosters accountability. Unfortunately, it can lead to them leaving the business and we will support them through their transition.
Salesforce is the largest employer in the San Francisco area with 73,541 employees at the beginning of last year.
The company said in an August filing that it had increased its headcount by 36% over the past year “to meet higher demand for its services from customers.”
Amazon
Amazon said it would lay off 18,000 corporate and tech jobs, the largest layoff in the company’s history.
The move comes as the company reportedly lost $1 trillion in the year after its stock price plummeted during the pandemic.
If Amazon implements its proposal to cut 10,000 jobs, it will lose about 3% of its corporate workforce.
The move comes after the company placed a hiring freeze, impacting key teams like Prime Video, Alexa and Amazon Fresh.
“We are facing an extraordinary macroeconomic environment and want to balance hiring and investing with thinking about this economy,” said Beth Galetti, senior vice president of people experience and technology at Amazon. (Beth Galetti) wrote in a note. Wall Street Journal.
intel
Intel Chief Executive Pat Gelsinger told Reuters that “employee behavior” will be part of the cost-cutting plan.
The company recently announced that it will cut costs by $3 billion in 2023, increasing to $10 billion by 2025.
The adjustments are expected to begin in the fourth quarter, Gelsinger said, but did not specify how many employees will be affected.
Bloomberg News reported last month that some Intel divisions, including sales and marketing groups, could be cut by up to 20%, citing people familiar with the matter.
Chip maker Intel is reportedly planning massive job cuts, possibly thousands, in the face of a slowdown in the personal computer market.
The company had 113,700 employees in July, when it lowered its full-year revenue guidance by $11 billion after a disappointing second quarter.
Santa Clara, Calif.-based Intel declined to comment on the job cuts when contacted by DailyMail.com in October.
Intel has been plagued by changing market trends, such as the decline of traditional personal computers as smartphones and tablets become more popular.
Worldwide PC shipments, which include desktops and laptops, fell another 15% year-over-year in the last quarter, according to IDC.
microsoft
Microsoft began furloughing 10,000 employees in January, citing slowing customer demand and a deteriorating economic environment.
In a company memo, CEO Satya Nadella said, “With some parts of the world in recession and some anticipating it, organizations in every industry and region are on alert. there is,” he said.
The layoffs affected nearly 5% of Microsoft’s global workforce.
According to Axios, Microsoft laid off fewer than 1,000 employees in several divisions last year.
“Like all companies, we regularly assess our business priorities and make structural adjustments accordingly,” a Microsoft executive said in a statement.
Microsoft laid off fewer than 1,000 employees in several divisions last month, according to Axios
“We will continue to invest in our business and hire in key growth areas.”
Microsoft executives had previously announced in July that the company would lay off less than 1% of its workforce and significantly delay hiring after earnings fell short of investor expectations.
The company, which only posted $51.9 billion in revenue in the second quarter of this year, was expected to make $52.4 billion.
The company had previously seen blockbuster growth during the COVID pandemic as consumers and businesses turned to its products as they transitioned to a work-from-home model.
lift
Ride-hailing company Lyft said it would furlough 13% of its workforce, or about 683 workers, after already cutting 60 jobs earlier this year and a hiring freeze in September.
Lyft said in regulatory filings that it will likely incur $27 million to $32 million in restructuring costs related to the layoffs.
“We are not immune to the reality of inflation and a slowing economy,” the Lyft founder said in a memo to employees.
Ride-hailing company Lyft has announced it will furlough 13% of its workforce, or about 683 employees, after already laying off 60 people earlier this year.
The company’s stock is down 76% year-to-date, from nearly $45 in January to about $10 today.
Announcing the job cuts in a memo seen by The Wall Street Journal, Lyft founders John Zimmer and Logan Green told staff:
“We could face an economic recession sometime next year, and the cost of rideshare insurance is rising.
“We have worked hard this summer to keep costs down. We will cut spending.
“Still, Lyft has to get leaner. To do that, we have to let go of some great team members.”
Lyft has about 4,000 employees, excluding drivers.
Apple CEO Tim Cook told CBS Morning on Monday that the company plans to freeze hiring.
apple
Apple hasn’t announced any major job cuts yet, but CEO Tim Cook told CBS Mornings that it’s also slowing down some hiring.
“What we’re doing as a result of this period is that we’re very cautious about hiring,” he said. They are not hiring everywhere.”
At the same time, however, Cook said, “I don’t believe we can save the road to prosperity.”
“We think you’re invested in it,” he said.