Many tech firms have announced layoffs for more than 70000 employees in the last year. And the names include major tech giants like Amazon, Meta, Microsoft, Google, and others, which are the dream company for millions of people to work with. So, the question arises what is the actual meaning of layoff? A layoff is a termination of employment initiated by the employer for reasons other than the actual work performance. In simple terms, it is the downsizing of an organization’s workforce by suspension or permanent termination of a worker or group of workers.
Let’s take a view at some of the biggest layoffs announced:
Amazon, the world’s largest online retail platform has announced 18000 layoffs.
Google’s parent company Alphabet announced a layoff for 12000 of its employees.
Meta announced 11000 layoffs.
Microsoft announced a layoff of 10000 employees.
Salesforce announced a 10% job cut which will affect around 8000 employees.
Elon Musk owned social media handle Twitter has laid off 3700 employees.
These firms and many other firms even from the non-tech field will further announce more such layoffs in the coming months. And the reasons stated for such a massive termination by companies include over-hiring in the past 2 years from 2020 to 2022, the number of job opportunities has skyrocketed. Many companies increased the number of people in the sector to handle the many projects. But post pandemic, the demand for tech services have been seen a downward turn and companies found themselves in a situation to reduce their operating cost and they see layoff as a solution. Also, another major reason is the alarming recession. As with the mark of the new year 2023, World Bank and IMF have published reports stating that the chances of many economies heading toward recession are high. Recession will lead to low aggregate demand and result in low revenue for companies. So, companies in order to reduce their costs so as to be profitable are looking for laying off their employees.
