Techno-education, Tech layoffs were big news in 2022, and that’s looking set to continue in 2023, too, with major companies like Amazon and Salesforce already slashing workforces.
There weren’t many major tech companies that escaped redundancies last year Twitter, Tesla, Shopify, Microsoft, and Netflix all cut staff, some of them more than once.
We’re keeping track of the notable layoffs in tech in 2023, as well as those that happened in 2022, so read on for a timeline of those companies that have been cutting staff.
Job losses: Around 12,000 staff
Google’s parent company, Alphabet, announces huge layoffs, letting 12,000 staff go. According to Reuters, the cuts will affect recruiting, engineering and product teams. In an email to staff, CEO Sundar Pichai stated “I am confident about the huge opportunity in front of us thanks to the strength of our mission, the value of our products and services, and our early investments in AI.”
Alphabet/Google had been unique in that it didn’t make any major layoffs in 2022, whilst its competitors were making heavy cuts. Now it seems not even Google employees are safe.
18th January
Microsoft
Job losses: Around 10,000 staff
After persistent rumors, Microsoft announced 10,000 job losses within the company. In an email to staff, CEO Satya Nadella stated that less than 5% of the company would be affected, and that hiring would still continue in key strategic areas. The company blames the job cuts on “macroeconomic conditions and changing customer priorities.”
The company issued several rounds of job cuts last year, but nothing on the scale of this recent announcement.
13th January
SmartNews
Job losses: Around 120 staff
News aggregator service SmartNews confirms that it is slashing around 120 positions from the company, affecting roles in US and China. SmartNews currently employees around 900 staff, meaning a hefty 13% reduction in headcount. Speaking to TechCrunch, the company blamed ‘economic conditions’ for the move.
11th January
Goldman Sachs
Job losses: Around 3,200 staff
Huge layoffs at Goldman Sachs, with staff in major cities such as New York, London and Hong Kong reportedly being given 30 minutes to collect their things and leave. It represents a huge 6.5% of the total workforce for the company,
and although the Zoom call that led to the mass firings was shocking for those affected, it hasn’t come out of the blue. Last month, CEO David Solomon warned that in an internal memo that cuts were on the horizon due to “tightening monetary conditions.”
Alphabet
Job losses: Around 200 staff
Verily, a healthcare services unit of Alphabet, announces that it is cutting 200 roles at the organisation, around 15% of positions with the company. In a statement on the company’s blog, CEO Stephen Verily stated “To enable greater focus on our updated portfolio,
we are discontinuing the development of Verily Value Suite and some early-stage products, including our work in remote patient monitoring for heart failure and microneedles for drug delivery.”
Meta
Job losses: At least 20 potential new staff
We reported previously on Meta removing job offers before candidates could start their new roles, and it appears the company has done it again. Originally reported by TechCrunch, Meta confirmed that it had had to withdraw some offers to new employees. Exact numbers aren’t known, although one source, engineer Gergely Orosz, claims to have heard of 20 people affected “so far.”
Coinbase
Job losses: Around 950 staff
Crypto firm Coinbase announces that it is closing 950 roles in a blog post, equalling 20% of its entire workforce. In a statement, CEO Brian Armstrong said that the cuts were necessary to ensure that Coinbase was able to succeed in 2023. He went on to say “While it is always painful to part ways with our fellow colleagues, there was no way to reduce our expenses significantly enough, without considering changes to headcount.”
Coinbase had previously issued mass redundancies in June 2022, leading to around 1,100 job losses.
Job losses: Around 10+ staff
Reports that Twitter has continued its huge layoffs into the new year, with around a dozen cuts being made to its Dublin and Singapore offices. Speaking to Bloomberg, Ella Irwin, Twitter’s Head of Trust and Safety, said “It made more sense to consolidate teams under one leader (instead of two) for example.”
Amazon
Job losses: Around 18,000 staff
Amazon has blamed a staff leak on having to announce huge redundancies earlier than expected, with 18,000 at the company expected to lose their jobs. Amazon has yet to announce which areas these cuts will affect. It marks another in a long line of job losses at the company, with 10,000 roles being made redundant less than two months ago.
Salesforce
Job losses: Around 8,000 staff
Salesforce kicked off the year with redundancies for 10% of its workforce. The company stated that it had hired too rapidly, and that these job losses were an attempt to correct this. In addition, the company will also look to close some of its physical offices.
In a statement, co-CEO Marc Benioff said “As our revenue accelerated through the pandemic, we hired too many people leading into this economic downturn we’re now facing, and I take responsibility for that.”
life is enjoy with writting