What’s with all the big tech layoffs?

[Gandalf_The_Grey]

Content source

https://www.ghacks.net/2023/01/28/whats-with-big-tech-layoffs/

Saying that this has been a difficult week for big tech firms and their employees would be an understatement. In the past couple of days, we have heard that Microsoft is axing 10,000 positions and Amazon is laying off 18,000 employees as well. Now, Google has announced a major layoff too.

In a Google blog post which is quoted verbatim from an email by CEO Sundar Pichai, the company has made the decision to reduce its workforce by 12,000 people. This is roughly 6% of its total headcount. Layoff emails have already been sent out to affected U.S. employees and will be sent out shortly to employees in other countries, with the delay being due to local laws.

Pichai says that he is taking full responsibility for the difficult decision - which was hinted at last year -, emphasizing that it will weigh heavily on him. The executive notes that:

Over the past two years we’ve seen periods of dramatic growth. To match and fuel that growth, we hired for a different economic reality than the one we face today.
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. To fully capture it, we’ll need to make tough choices. So, we’ve undertaken a rigorous review across product areas and functions to ensure that our people and roles are aligned with our highest priorities as a company. The roles we’re eliminating reflect the outcome of that review. They cut across Alphabet, product areas, functions, levels and regions.
To the Googlers who are leaving us: Thank you for working so hard to help people and businesses everywhere. Your contributions have been invaluable and we are grateful for them.

Google is laying off 12,000 employees

Google is the latest big tech firm to announce major layoffs following Microsoft and Amazon. The company is reducing its headcount by 12,000 and has encouraged employees to work from home today.

www.neowin.net

 

[vtqhtr413]

The billionaire hedge fund manager that runs a major Google investor isn't satisfied with the record 12,000 redundancies the US tech giant is making, and wants to see thousands more forced out of the organization. From a report: Estimated to be worth around $8 billion, Sir Christopher Hohn reportedly paid himself $1.8 million a day last year and is the boss of The Children's Investment Fund. He had already agitated for change in November when he implored Google execs to cut costs by reducing headcount, paying staff less, and killing off profitless business.

Google Institutional Investor Calls For 30K Jobs Cut - Slashdot

The billionaire hedge fund manager that runs a major Google investor isn't satisfied with the record 12,000 redundancies the US tech giant is making, and wants to see thousands more forced out of the organization. From a report: Estimated to be worth around $8 billion, Sir Christopher Hohn...

tech.slashdot.org

 

[ManiS]

Google is laying off 12,000 employees

Google is the latest big tech firm to announce major layoffs following Microsoft and Amazon. The company is reducing its headcount by 12,000 and has encouraged employees to work from home today.

www.neowin.net

These are really tough times... Hoping for the best

Thanks for sharing

BR
Mani

 

[CyberTech]

IBM announced today that it will lay off about 3900 workers, which is less than 2% of the global workforce. The company is the last technology company to lay off workers. IBM's workforce reduction is not as large as that of other major technology companies. Google-parent Alphabet announced 12000 job cuts, Microsoft 10000 and Amazon 18000.

The layoffs are mostly the results of earlier asset sales and less a result of the current market climate, according to IBM. IBM sold or restructured several assets in the last two years. The company's legacy technology services business was spun off in 2021 and its health care data analytics business was sold in 2022.

The layoffs will cost IBM about $300 million to pay for employee severance costs. The layoffs were announced during an investor conference call for the financial results of the fourth quarter of 2022. IBM is still committed to hiring "for client-facing research and development" according to the company's CFO.

The rest

IBM cuts 3,900 jobs - gHacks Tech News

IBM announced today that it will lay off about 3900 workers, which is less than 2% of the global workforce.

www.ghacks.net

 

[CyberTech]

On January 20, news broke out of Google eliminating 12,000 workers and added that these workers would get severance packages, six months of healthcare, and more. Nevertheless, the devastating news has been a lot for individuals to handle.

According to Business Insider, a Google Engineer, who wished to remain anonymous, shared insights on the effects of the downsizing on the existing workforce. The engineer mentioned the survivors of the layoffs cried during meetings when the news of the layoffs was announced.

The East Coast engineer said that in video calls that day “some of the folks were sobbing," and "they were drying their eyes.” The engineer added that the typical interactions at the office between the existing staff had now changed saying "It's not the typical nonverbal interaction there used to be before. Now it's a meaningful nod."

A second engineer from the West Coast mentioned that the staff was “angry and sad” after the news. The currently-employed individual noted that the decision removed the sense of belonging among workers. He added:

Google engineer says workers cried at meetings as the company laid off 12,000 employees

Two engineers at Google revealed insights on the after-effects of the lay-offs on the existing staff at the company. They shared that losing 12,000 employees has been overwhelming for many.

www.neowin.net

 

[CyberTech]

With the exception of Apple, all the Big Tech companies have announced thousands upon thousands of layoffs over recent months. Also, as has been reported by The Verge, the statements these companies have put out about why they’ve laid off so many workers all seem pretty similar.

They focus on difficult times during COVID-19 sparking a digital boom that caused an acceleration in hiring practices. As things have slowed down a little, however, they can’t maintain their workforces at levels they previously thought would be sustainable. With so many people losing their jobs, however, and so little relatable information coming across through all the multiple statements being put out by the companies that are cutting them, we thought it would be worth looking into it all to try and understand what is going on.

Full article

What’s with all the big tech layoffs? - gHacks Tech News

With the exception of Apple, all the Big Tech companies have announced thousands upon thousands of layoffs over recent months. Also, as has been reported by The Verge, the statements these companies […]

www.ghacks.net

 

[HarborFront]

It's a repercussion from sanctioning China, right? The US sanctions China in many tech areas forbidding the companies to buy/sell from/to China resulting in overstocking with nobody to sell to.

Meta and Spotify will be dying soon and takeover by TT. TT is popular with youngsters nowadays

Amazon is selling stuff which are expensive. People move to the new platform, Wish, which is selling cheaper stuff

They just don't admit that, don't they?

 

[monkeylove]

Several of them have been expanding at least for other markets, with free shipping to regions like Asia. Online shopping is also booming in the same, probably now accounting for around 60 pct of the world market.

 

[Bruno OwlWhisper]

It's a repercussion from sanctioning China, right? The US sanctions China in many tech areas forbidding the companies to buy/sell from/to China resulting in overstocking with nobody to sell to.

Meta and Spotify will be dying soon and takeover by TT. TT is popular with youngsters nowadays

Amazon is selling stuff which are expensive. People move to the new platform, Wish, which is selling cheaper stuff

They just don't admit that, don't they?

Wish, really?
The marketplace that can sell the same item at 1$ or 200$.
I hope that does not happen, Wish is terrible, in my opinion.

 

[HarborFront]

Wish, really?
The marketplace that can sell the same item at 1$ or 200$.
I hope that does not happen, Wish is terrible, in my opinion.

Sorry, it’s not Wish. I made a mistake

It's TEMU

Temu | Explore the Latest Clothing, Beauty, Home, Jewelry & More

Make Temu your one-stop destination for the latest fashion products, cosmetics & more. Free shipping for new users. Free returns within 90 days. Shop on Temu and start saving.

www.temu.com

 

[Gandalf_The_Grey]

More people in the tech industry have been hit by layoffs today. This time, the company announcing cuts in its workforce is Dell. The PC company announced in an SEC filing (via CNBC) that it will lay off 6,650 workers. That's about 5 percent of Dell's total workforce.

The SEC filing included an all-team email sent by Dell's co-COO Jeff Clarke. He stated that efforts to cut back on spending at Dell, including a hiring freeze and limiting travel, have not been enough and that "market conditions continue to erode with an uncertain future". He said of the layoffs, "There is no tougher decision, but one we had to make for our long-term health and success.”

The new Dell layoffs are part of the overall downward trend in PC sales. IDC reported in January that shipments of PCs worldwide in the fourth quarter of 2022 were down 28.1 percent from the same period in 2021. The same report added that Dell, the third largest PC maker, saw its year-over-year sales plummet 37.2 percent in the fourth quarter of 2022.

Dell's move to lay off 5 percent of its workforce is in tune with all of the other tech layoffs that have been announced in the past few months. Google and Spotify have both announced headcount reductions of 6 percent, and Microsoft also announced mass layoffs a few weeks ago that affected less than 5 percent of its workforce.

Dell is the latest tech company to announce layoffs with 6,650 workers affected

The 6,650 people affected by the Dell layoffs will hit 5 percent of its total workforce. The decision comes as PC sales as a whole got hit with large reductions in the fourth quarter of 2022.

www.neowin.net

 

[Dave Russo]

I know what it's like to get a layoff, usually it's a bummer, anyway do you think we might see some deals on new computers or the opposite?

 

[plat]

I heard on the local NYC news the National Security Agency (NSA) is going after the laid-off ones from the tech industry. Hmm, ramifications, ramifications.

But, insofar as computer prices coming down, I look at the current retail prices of the NVIDIA graphics processor as an overall indicator and currently, it's not happening. I'll venture to say: opposite. In this instance, I'd love to be wrong, though.

 

[Gandalf_The_Grey]

Zoom will lay off 15 percent of its workforce in the latest tech business cutback

Sadly, the tech industry has been hit again with news of a mass layoff. This time, the company is Zoom, which announced today it was letting go of 1,300 employees, or a big 15 percent of its total workforce.

In a blog post, Zoom CEO Eric Yuan noted that in the last 24 months, Zoom added three times its previous employee workforce, as tons of companies started using its video conferencing software during the Covid-19 pandemic. Zoom calls became a normal way of life for a while, as employees stuck at home used the software to hold meetings with fellow employees.

However, the threat of the pandemic has now eased up, with more workers returning to their physical offices. Yuan stated that while many companies still use Zoom, the current uncertain economic situation has caused the company to " look inward to reset ourselves so we can weather the economic environment."

Employees in the US who do get laid off will get up to 16 weeks of salary and healthcare coverage, along with any earned bonuses, stock option vesting for 6 months, and more. Yuan himself will be taking a whopping 98 percent reduction in his own salary, and will not be getting any bonus this year.

Zoom will lay off 15 percent of its workforce in the latest tech business cutback

Today's Zoom layoffs will affect 1,300 employees at the online video conferencing software company, which got a big boost in use during the Covid-19 pandemic in the last few years.

www.neowin.net

 

[show-Zi]

Dell to Cut About 6,650 Jobs, Battered by Plunging PC Sales

Dell Technologies Inc. is eliminating about 6,650 roles as it faces plummeting demand for personal computers, becoming the latest technology company to announce thousands of job cuts.

www.bloomberg.com

 

[ForgottenSeer 98186]

It's a repercussion from sanctioning China, right?

1. Not connected to any sanctions.
2. Companies hired too many people in 2020-2022.
3. Inflation is very high because of all the money given by governments during pandemic; too much money created.
4. World economy has slowed down significantly and consumers are spending less of their money, which means less demand.
5. World economy has entered "stagflation" = little or negative growth with increasing prices (high inflation).
6. There will be a recession in 2023 or 2024.
7. Big tech investors are demanding that the companies reduce expenses. First thing = fire employees.

 

[billink]

Bad news, bad news everywhere.

 

[vtqhtr413]

Microsoft-owned GitHub is laying off 10% of its staff. From a report: In a message to staff on Thursday, GitHub's CEO Thomas Dohmke said that due to "new budgetary realignments" the company must reduce the workforce "by up to 10% through the end of FY23." The company is also going fully remote, Dohmke wrote, telling staff they're "seeing very low utilization rates" in their offices. "We are not vacating offices immediately but will move to close all of our offices as their leases end or as we are operationally able to do so," Dohmke wrote. "We announced a number of difficult but necessary decisions and budgetary realignments to both protect the health of our business in the short term and grant us the capacity to invest in our long-term strategy moving forward," a GitHub spokesperson told Fortune in a written statement. The company declined to comment on whether these cuts are a part of Microsoft's layoffs that impacted 10,000 employees last month. The end.

GitHub is Laying Off 10% of Staff and Cutting Down Office Space - Slashdot

Microsoft-owned GitHub is laying off 10% of its staff. From a report: In a message to staff on Thursday, GitHub's CEO Thomas Dohmke said that due to "new budgetary realignments" the company must reduce the workforce "by up to 10% through the end of FY23." The company is also going fully remote...

tech.slashdot.org

 

[vtqhtr413]

Bad news, bad news everywhere.

This is mostly sad news for the tech sector and even there it's a small percentage. There were over 500.,000 jobs created in the US just last month alone.

 

[Gandalf_The_Grey]

GitHub is Laying Off 10 Percent of Staff, Going Fully Remote

GitHub revealed today that it will lay off 10 percent of its workforce of 3,000 employees and close all of its offices to work fully remotely.

“Today, we are announcing a number of difficult decisions, including saying goodbye to some Hubbers and enacting new budgetary realignments, designed to protect the short-term health of our business while also granting us the capacity to invest in our long-term strategy,” GitHub CEO Thomas Dohmke wrote in an email to employees today. “Unfortunately, this will include changes that will result in a reduction of GitHub’s workforce by up to 10 percent through the end of [fiscal year 2023].”

(I assume GitHub’s FY23 aligns with that of parent company Microsoft. If so, this means through the end of June 2023.)

To improve its operational efficiency, GitHub will also move to be fully remote by closing offices as the leases end.

“We are seeing very low utilization rates in our offices around the world, and this decision is a testament to the success of our long-standing remote-first culture,” Dohmke continued. “We will share more workplace details and transition plans with you as they are finalized, … but I wanted to share two decisions with you. Effective immediately, we will be moving laptop refreshes from three years to four years [and] we will be moving to Microsoft Teams for the sole purpose of video conferencing, saving significant costs and simplifying cross-company and customer conversations. This move will be completed by September 1, 2023. We will remain on Slack as our day-to-day collaboration tool.”

GitHub is Laying Off 10 Percent of Staff, Going Fully Remote

GitHub revealed today that it will lay off 10 percent of its workforce of 3,000 employees and close all of its offices to work fully remotely.

www.thurrott.com