The mass layoffs that began late last year have been extended until 2023, owing to recession worries and economic slowdowns.
So far this year, the overall number of IT layoffs has surpassed the entire amount from the previous year.
According to data published by online tracker Layoffs.fyi, the overall number of tech layoffs to date is 191,416, exceeding the previous year's total of 164,576.
Despite the fact that the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) reported that the US economy generated 253,000 new jobs in April, some analysts predict a recession in the United States this year.
According to the BLS, the unemployment rate fell marginally to 3.4 percent, down from 3.5 percent.
“We still forecast a recession to start in 2023 as the Fed continues to raise its target interest rate to bring inflation under control,” wrote Selcuk Eren, senior economist at The Conference Board, following the BLS report released on May 5.
Eren added: “The slowing economy will reduce labor demand. We expect the unemployment rate to rise to around 4.5 percent by the beginning of 2024.”
On May 4, e-commerce startup Shopify announced a 20% employment reduction and the sale of its logistics division.
DropBox said in April that it will decrease its workforce by 16 percent, or around 500 people, due to sluggish growth. Mass layoffs are not restricted to the IT industry. The following is a list of significant corporations that have recently announced layoffs.
3M, well known for its consumer products such as Post-It notes and Scotch tape, stated on April 25 that it will lay off 6,000 people worldwide, adding to the 2,500 global manufacturing jobs cut in January.
Meta, Facebook's parent company, announced the layoff of about 10,000 employees while also canceling an additional 5,000 unfilled positions. It was the second round of huge layoffs after 13% of its workforce, or 11,000 employees, were laid off in November of last year.
According to an SEC filing, Dell Technologies intends to reduce 5% of its workforce, or around 6,650 jobs.
Match Group, located in Dallas and owner of Tinder, OkCupid, and Hinge, announced an 8% reduction in its staff, or around 200 people.
Palantir Technologies, a Denver-based big data analytics firm, announced a 2% personnel reduction. According to the company's SEC filing, it employed 3,838 full-time workers as of December 31, 2022.
Dow Chemical announced a series of moves aimed at saving $1 billion in costs by 2023, including the layoff of 2,000 employees worldwide.
As part of asset divestments, BM announced the layoff of 3,900 personnel.
Alphabet, Google's parent firm, announced a 12,000-person staff reduction. In an internal email, Alphabet CEO Sundar Pichai stated that he accepted "full responsibility" for the layoffs.
In a statement to staff, Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella stated that the business will be "making changes that will result in the reduction of our overall workforce by 10,000 jobs through the end of FY23 Q3." The layoffs will effect less than 5% of the company's workforce, he noted.
