17 Big Tech Companies Carrying Out Mass Layoffs in Early 2023
With various considerations, they also started mass layoffs which are still ongoing today. So, what kind of layoffs can be categorized as mass layoffs?
A company can be said to have made mass layoffs if at least 50 employees were laid off within 30 days or less, provided that the number of dismissed employees is equivalent to or more than a third of the company's workforce or as many as 500 employees or more are dismissed within 30 days or less, no matter how many. company workforce.
Based on these provisions, here are a number of major world companies that will carry out mass layoffs of their employees in 2022–2023. Data listed is United States base.
1. Coinbase
This cryptocurrency exchange platform or crypto currency will lay off 18 percent of its employees in June 2022. CEO Brian Armstrong mentions the factors of the possibility of a recession and the need for cost management.
2. Netflix
The number of subscribers to the streaming giant continues to decline. As a result, Netflix laid off 150 workers or around 2 percent of the total workforce in June 2022. This number is still increasing over time. Layoffs occur as a result of a business need, not because of an employee's personal performance issues.
3. SoundCloud
Early August 2022, CEO Michael Weissman announced that his online music streaming community platform would reduce global headcount by 20 percent. SoundCloud's layoffs apply to employees worldwide, not just in the United States.
4. Snapchat
The company is laying off around 1,300 employees or 20 percent of the total workforce in September 2022. The layoffs are an effort to reduce costs. The part that was most affected by layoffs was the content team, then there was also the hardware section.
5. Twitter
In November 2022, Twitter laid off 3,700 employees, nearly half of its global workforce. Twitter's mass layoffs are affecting multiple departments, including its content team, sales and advertising department, and engineering and development divisions.
Twitter's mass layoffs of nearly 50 percent of its workforce are the largest mass layoffs of 2022 by a technology company.
6. Meta (Facebook)
Still in November 2022, Meta announced mass layoffs of 11,000 of its employees. The layoffs came after Meta shares lost two-thirds of their value and affected 13 percent of the workforce.
Meanwhile, Mark Zuckerberg admits that he is responsible for the errors that occur in Meta. This is the first mass layoff in Meta's 18 year history.
7. Vimeo
The popular video hosting platform had laid off 6 percent of employees in July 2023, then will resume it at 11 percent in January 2023. CEO Anjali Sud stated that the layoffs were necessary for the company to have “financial flexibility”.
8. Amazon
CEO Andy Jassy announced in January 2023 that Amazon would cut 18,000 jobs worldwide. Previously in mid-November 2022, the company began laying off 1 percent of its global employees.
As part of its cost-cutting strategy, Amazon is also offering voluntary severance purchase plans to some of the employees who are leaving.
9. Microsoft
CEO Satya Nadella announced that Microsoft is making changes that will result in 10,000 job losses by March 2023. While roles in certain areas are being removed, Microsoft will be recruiting workers for key strategic areas.
This makes Microsoft the technology company that is lagging behind yet another mass layoff in reaction to growing concerns over the economic landscape.
10. Google (Alphabet)
In January 2023, Alphabet (Google's parent company) announced that 12,000 employees or 6 percent of its global workforce would be laid off. In the notice, CEO Sundar Pichai explained, "We're hiring for a different economic reality than we currently face."
11. Spotify
Spotify announced it would be shedding 6 percent of its global workforce by January 2023. CEO Daniel Ek stated that there were changes at the top management level. A number of efficiency efforts are needed as a result of this "organizational change".
With around 6,600 employees globally, 6 percent of the layoffs will affect around 400 of Spotify's employees.
12. IBM
IBM in January 2023 announced that approximately 3,900 positions or 1.5 percent of its global workforce would be cut. This is the result of the previously announced spin-off and sale of two business units. The layoffs at IBM are expected to cost the company up to $300 million this quarter.
13. PayPal
PayPal will lay off 2,000 employees or about 7 percent of its workforce based on a notification by the end of January 2023.
The layoffs at PayPal will last for the first few weeks of February. This decision comes as the company seeks to measure its cost structure and focus its resources on strategic core areas.
14. Dell
Sales are declining, computer manufacturer Dell announced it will lay off 6,500 of its workforce starting in February 2023. That figure is around 5 percent of its global workforce. Dell also halted the recruiting process.
15. Zoom
CEO Eric Yuan announced the layoffs of 1,300 employees or 15 percent of Zoom's workforce. He will also cut his own salary by 98 percent this year, while other executives by 20 percent.
The layoffs impacted every department in the company. Laid-off employees receive up to 16 weeks of salary and health coverage as severance pay.
16. Disney / ESPN
CEO Bob Iger announced in February 2023 that it plans to cut 7,000 jobs representing more than 3 percent of its global workforce. The layoffs will mostly affect the entertainment division and ESPN.
17. Yahoo
Yahoo, a multinational internet company from the United States, is rumored to be carrying out mass layoffs of more than 20 percent of its employees. The company made mass layoffs as part of a restructuring of the advertising division.
A Yahoo spokesperson said the workforce cuts would affect approximately 50 percent of employees in the ad division by the end of this year. "Including nearly 1,000 employees this Sunday," he said, Thursday, February 9, 2023, quoted by Reuters.
