A wave of layoffs in the global tech industry: 23,670 people lost their jobs in January

In January 2024, global tech companies such as Alphabet, Meta and Microsoft posted record highs on the stock market. At the same time, companies are cutting jobs rapidly. Approximately 23,670 workers were laid off at 85 technology companies in January 2024, the most since last March, according to Layoffs.fyi.

Who has already been affected by the wave of cuts?

• Last week, SAP announced the layoff of 8,000 employees;
• Microsoft has cut 1,900 jobs in its gaming division;
• US-based fintech startup Brex has laid off 20% of its staff;
• eBay has cut 1,000 jobs, representing 9% of its full-time workforce;
• Amazon has cut hundreds of jobs at its Prime Video, MGM Studios, Twitch and Audible divisions;
• Earlier this month, Google cut several hundred jobs from various teams;
• Unity has announced that it will cut about 25% of its staff;
• Discord is cutting 17% of its workforce due to rapid growth and operational inefficiencies;

Why do layoffs occur?

This trend follows mass layoffs in 2023, when more than 277 companies shed about 90,000 employees. Although the economic outlook is improving, companies continue to follow an austerity strategy.

We need to better organize teams to increase speed, allowing us to be more nimble, combine similar tasks and make decisions faster,

Jamie Iannone, eBay CEO, told in its company blog post.

Forecasts for 2024:

According to ResumeBuilder, 38% of CEOs surveyed expect further layoffs, and about half of them have suspended hiring due to fears of a possible recession and the impact of artificial intelligence.

The implementation of AI itself may be a significant factor, with 40% of respondents planning to lay off during its integration process, following the example of Dropbox, Google, and IBM.

The companies planning to lay off in 2024, according to Business Insider.

• Citigroup plans to cut 20,000 jobs as part of corporate restructuring;
• Nike implements a cost-cutting plan that could cost up to $2 billion and include severance pay;
• Intel plans more layoffs through 2024, after five rounds of cuts last year;
• BlackRock plans to cut staff by 3%;
• Rent the Runway cuts 10% of office jobs as part of restructuring;
• Unity Software cuts off 25% of workforce;
• Salesforce cuts off 700 employess;
• Flexport reports about 20% workforce reduction.