INSUBCONTINENT EXCLUSIVE:
NEW DELHI: The gloomy outlook for global economy in 2023 has pushed several tech firms and Wall Street titans to lay off staff across
A string of tech companies like Microsoft, Twitter, Meta were already in the grasp of this layoff wave
On Friday, Google parent company Alphabet became the latest firm to join the list of IT giants to opt for job cuts
Thanks to a resilient search business, Google has been one of the longest tech holdouts
But the company is dealing with a slowdown in digital advertising and its cloud-computing division continues to trail Amazon and
Microsoft.Cumulatively, more than 1.5 lakh tech company workers faced job cuts in 2022, according to tracking site Layoffs.fyi.Tech layoffs
continue in 2023The job cuts started in 2022 and accelerated across much of the technology world
The tech industry is slashing jobs at a pace nearing the early days of the Covid-19 pandemic
In November last year, the sector announced 52,771 cuts, for a total of 80,978 over the course of the year, according to consulting firm
Challenger, Gray - Christmas Inc
It was the highest monthly total for the industry since the firm started keeping data in 2000.As a pandemic-led demand boom rapidly fades,
tech companies shed more than 150,000 workers in 2022, according to tracking site Layoffs.fyi, and more layoffs are expected as growth in
the world's biggest economies start to slow.Here are some of the job cuts announced so far:AmazonThe e-commerce giant has said that it will
cut some jobs in the United States, Canada and Costa Rica as part of its plan to lay off 18,000 employees
The company terminated 2,300 employees in Seattle and Bellevue, according to an update on the Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification
(WARN) site quoted by Reuters.MicrosoftMicrosoft has eliminated 10,000 jobs earlier this week
The tech giant said it would take a billion-dollar charge from severance costs among other changes
US-eligible staff, for instance, will get healthcare coverage and stock vesting for six months.TwitterThe upheaval at Twitter has more to do
early November 2022 in a cost-cutting measure by its new owner Elon Musk, and hundreds more subsequently resigned.Earlier this month, the
firm made further staff cuts in the trust and safety team handling global content moderation and in the unit related to hate speech and
MetaFacebook's parent Meta Platforms laid off around 11,000 employees in November last year
This was one of the biggest tech layoffs -- roughly 13% of staff
It was also the first time in Meta's 18-year history when it had to go for broad job cuts
outside of research and development, an escalation of its plan to reduce budgets heading in the new year, according to people with knowledge
of the matter quoted by Reuters
standard hardware and software engineering roles.IntelIntel is cutting jobs and slowing spending on new plants in an effort to save $3
billion, the chipmaker said
The hope is to save as much as $10 billion by 2025, a plan that went over well with investors, who sent the shares up more than 10% on
Bloomberg News reported earlier that the headcount reduction could number in the thousands
The company had already said it would freeze hiring in the US until at least the new year
decline in demand for phones, which use its chips
It now expects smartphone shipments to decline in the double-digit percent range this year, worse than the outlook it gave
workforce, according to a January 4 regulatory filing
AdobeAdobe has eliminated about 100 jobs, concentrated in sales
The company shifted some employees to other roles internally.HPHP will cut as many as 6,000 jobs over the next three years as declining
demand for personal computers cuts into profits
In addition to reducing its workforce by about 10%, the company will reduce its real estate footprint
What led to layoffs* Recession fears: Amid widespread caution regarding global economic slowdown, IT firms are reassessing their spending
and bracing for a potential recession.Many economists believe that a global recession is likely in 2023
The World Bank and International Monetary Fund (IMF) have already cautioned economies to brace up for slowdown in pace of growth
A majority of the World Economic Forum's Community of Chief Economists expect to see geopolitical tensions continuing to shape the global
economy, and anticipate further monetary tightening in the United States and Europe.* Weak consumer demand: The world has been facing major
challenges since the beginning of 2022 in form of high inflation and weak demand
In wake of geopolitical crisis, consumer price inflation has soared in almost every major economy of the world be it the US, UK, India,
Japan, European Union and others
The impact is being felt even more now as the global economy was already reeling under the pressure of Covid-related lockdowns since 2020
Just when situation seemed to be improving gradually, the war between Russia and Ukraine made matter worse by disrupting a major trade route
* Rapid rate hike: Persistently rising consumer prices forced central banks to opt for monetary policy tightening since the beginning of
After a long haitus, almost all central banks started raising key interest rates
Th US Federal Reserve was the first to hike rates from sub-zero levels and is continuing to do so even now
Central banks of other economies have also followed suit
Even though the World Bank has cautioned economies from rapidly raising interest rates, it is deemed to be important to tame the rising
aggressive strategy to curb spending
In November, TCI Fund Management urged the internet search giant in an open letter to publicly set a target for profit margins, increase
headcount had swelled 20% per year since 2017.* Cost cutting: Google has made a series of cost-cutting moves in recent months, canceling the
next generation of its Pixelbook laptop and permanently shuttering Stadia, its cloud gaming service.Earlier in January, Verily, a biotech
unit of Alphabet, said it was cutting 15% of its staff.What Pichai said in emailAlphabet CEO Sundar Pichai was the one to announce the job
cuts to his staff via an email
He said that the company faced a different economic reality from the past two years when it rapidly expanded headcount, decisions for which
and businesses," and the company has "a substantial opportunity in front of us with AI across our products."Pichai added that Google,
off employees at Google will get 16 weeks of severance and 6 months worth of health benefits in the US, with other regions receiving
packages based on local laws and practices
Pichai said that the company will pay employees during the full notification period of 60 days
Besides, they will also get 2022 bonuses and remaining vacation time.Layoffs beyond techAs fears of recession looms, the US corporate sector
is already feeling the heat
The layoffs are not just limited to the IT sector but financials, retail, energy, healthcare are also sailing on the same boat
Goldman Sachs began laying off staff on January 11 in a sweeping cost-cutting drive, with around a third of those affected coming from the
investment banking and global markets division, a source familiar with the matter told Reuters.Citigroup also eliminated dozens of jobs
across its investment banking division, as a dealmaking slump continues to weigh on Wall Street's biggest banks, Bloomberg reported
Meanwhile, vegan meat maker Blue Apron Holdings announced its plans to cut 200 jobs this year, with the layoffs expected to save about $39
million.Pharma giant Johnson - Johnson has said it might cut some jobs amid inflationary pressure and a strong dollar, with CFO Joseph Wolk
saying the healthcare conglomerate is looking at "right sizing" itself.Cryptocurrency exchange also said it would slash nearly 950 jobs, the
third round of workforce reduction in less than a year after cryptocurrencies, already squeezed by rising interest rates, came under renewed
pressure following the collapse of major exchange FTX.(With inputs from agencies)
