Posted by Tech layoffs are coming thick and fast as the industry pares back on staffing amid macroeconomic headwinds. The first waves occurred in the middle of last year, but are only growing in strength and numbers. Many companies hired too aggressively during the pandemic, and they are realizing that inflated payrolls and elevated costs are not holding up in the current business environment.
The latest: Salesforce (CRM) is cutting 10% of its workforce, and is closing some offices, leading to $1.4B-$2.1B in charges for the company and around 8,000 layoffs. Amazon (AMZN) is also slashing its headcount – by over double that figure. The retail behemoth has confirmed that 18,000 employees will get the axe, with the bulk of the roles due for elimination concentrated in the firm’s e-commerce and human resources organizations.
“The environment remains challenging and our customers are taking a more measured approach to their purchasing decisions,” Salesforce co-CEO Marc Benioff wrote in a letter to employees. “Amazon has weathered uncertain and difficult economies in the past, and we will continue to do so,” CEO Andy Jassy declared. “These changes will help us pursue our long-term opportunities with a stronger cost structure; however, I’m also optimistic that we’ll be inventive, resourceful, and scrappy in this time when we’re not hiring expansively and eliminating some roles.”
By the numbers: According to tracking website “layoffs.fyi,” more than 150K tech workers were fired in 2022, and that number is poised to grow this year. Companies in the industry that have shed employees include Airbnb (ABNB), Booking Holdings (BKNG), Carvana (CVNA), Cisco (CSCO), Groupon (GRPN), HP (HPQ), Lyft (LYFT), Meta (META), Netflix (NFLX), Peloton (PTON), Twitter, Uber (UBER) and Zillow (ZG).
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