Hyderabad: The year 2024 has been a difficult one for tech employees as the world is witnessing layoffs in multiple companies, including Microsoft, Google, Amazon, Meta and TikTok, bringing uncertainty for workers across industries.
The tech pundits assume that the mass-level layoffs are the outcome of the boom times of the pandemic, which companies are still trying to overcome. Companies are reducing their workforces to help lower costs and bolster their bottom lines.
Here are some tech and retail companies that have laid of employees recently:
Google layoffs- The tech giant Google announced laying off hundreds of employees working on its hardware, voice assistance and engineering teams, conveying it to the respective employees earlier this month. The cuts follow pledges by executives of Google and its parent company Alphabet to reduce costs. A year ago, Google said it would lay off 12,000 employees or around 6% of its workforce.
Microsoft layoffs- According to an internal company memo, Microsoft is laying off some 1,900 employees in its gaming division. The job cuts — which represent about an 8% reduction of Microsoft's 22,000-person gaming workforce — have arrived just over three months since the tech giant completed its $69 billion purchase of video game maker Activision Blizzard.
Levi's layoffs- Levi Strauss & Co. is slashing its global workforce by 10% to 15% in the first half of the year, as part of a two-year restructuring plan that seeks to cut costs and simplify its operations, the denim giant said.
Amazon layoffs- Twitch, which is owned by Amazon, is cutting more than 500 jobs in a bid to save on costs. The video streaming platform's CEO Dan Clancy said in an email to employees that even with cost cuts and growing efficiency, the platform "is still meaningfully larger than it needs to be given the size of our business."
IBM layoffs- The International Business Machines (IBM) said it would cut about 3,900 jobs, the Wall Street Journal reported. The job cuts will stem from Kyndryl Holdings, the IT services business that IBM spun off last year, and its healthcare divestiture, from which the company will incur about a USD 300 million charge.
Dell layoffs- Digital Electronic Link Library(Dell) said it would lay off 5% of its workforce, or about 6,650 employees, in early February. The company began the year with more than 130,000 employees, but said that the cuts were made to “stay ahead of downturn impacts.”
REI layoffs- Recreational Equipment, Inc.(REI) is laying off 357 workers, mostly in the outdoor retailer's headquarters and distribution centres. In a letter to employees, CEO Eric Artz noted that "outdoor specialty retail has experienced four quarters of decline — and that trend has been worsening." While REI was able to outperform this for much of last year, he said, this trend caught up to the company in the fourth quarter, and difficult conditions are expected in 2024.
TikTok layoffs- TikTok said it is laying off dozens of workers in its advertising and sales unit. A spokesperson for the company confirmed that the social media platform is cutting 60 jobs. TikTok, which is owned by Beijing-based ByteDance, did not provide a reason for the layoffs.
Riot Games layoffs- Owned by Chinese technology giant Tencent, Video game developer Riot Games announced plans to lay off 530 employees, about 11% of its staff. The company behind the popular "League of Legends" multiplayer battle game cited a need to cut costs after expanding across too many areas and said it plans to focus more closely on its games division.
eBay layoffs- Online retailer eBay Inc. also announced layoffs of about 1,000 workforces or an estimated 9% of its full-time workforce. eBay's President and CEO Jamie Iannone announced that the company would be laying off workers and eliminating about 1,000 jobs. The layoff is an estimated 9% of its full-time workforce. The company said that its number of employees and costs have exceeded business growth in a slowing economy.
Wayfair layoffs- Online furniture seller Wayfair announced Friday that it is laying off approximately 1,650 employees, representing about 13% of its global workforce. The restructuring is set to reduce team sizes across the company and reduce seniority in certain roles with the company planning to "rebuild with modified levelling" this year, Wayfair CEO and co-founder Niraj Shah said.
Macy's layoffs- Macy's is laying off about 3.5% of its total headcount, which amounts to roughly 2,350 employees. The iconic department store is also closing five locations in Arlington, Virginia; San Leandro, California; Lihue, Hawaii; Simi Valley, California; and Tallahassee, Florida.
Audible layoffs- Amazon-owned online audiobook and podcast service Audible is laying off about 5% of its workforce. In a memo sent to employees, Audible CEO Bob Carrigan said that the company is in good shape, but faces an "increasingly challenging landscape." In addition, Amazon's Prime Video and MGM Studios unit is trimming hundreds of employees as it cuts back in areas that are not delivering.
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