In this article, we explained the biggest tech layoffs 2022 in detail. Tech giants like Amazon, Twitter, and Meta were just some of the tech giants involved in tech layoffs 2022. Worse, it seems like there will be even more as the year draws to a conclusion. After 2021, a successful year for technology, tech layoffs started. 121,667 employees were let go by 795 IT businesses in 2022, and the numbers are still rising.
The North American technology sector has historically been one of the main drivers of the industry. For more than 20 years, the U.S. tech industry has consistently provided rising stocks and comfortable, well-paying jobs. The other foot is now wearing the boot. Let’s look at what caused the tech layoffs in 2022, how they happened, and what will happen in the future.
Tech layoffs 2022: The reasons
Many companies that have released statements to the public have cited at least one of two primary causes:
- Tech firms hired a lot of personnel during the outbreak when people were heavily online. That new personnel seems too pricey now that the web boom has cooled and real life has resumed.
- Due to greater economic uncertainties, brands are currently less eager to spend on digital advertising, a source of revenue for many internet businesses. Due to increasing interest rates, venture funding is no longer available at a low cost.
Is COVID-19 related to tech layoffs occurring? As we already stated, the situation is not driven by the start of COVID-19. In fact, the pandemic’s waning effects are what trigger the tech job cuts in 2022. Using the graphic below, you may check the number of tech layoffs since COVID-19.
How did we get here, then? Big Tech companies recently reported less-than-stellar profits. However, they have also thrown out cautionary signals for the upcoming months. Businesses asserted that consumers were reducing their spending because a recession was about to start. There weren’t many signs that things might change for the better soon. This suggests that more companies than just those listed above may search for cost-cutting options in the next weeks and months.
For the tech sector, the pandemic that fueled the boom is finally over. As the IT sector readjusts to a time when people aren’t cooped up at home, attached to their devices, what’s happening right now is sort of a correction.
What’s going on right now? Tech layoffs 2022 proceed as planned. Due to economic difficulties, 83 tech businesses, including Coinbase, Spotify, Meta, and Twitter, fired their staff just in November, making it the worst month ever for layoffs.
Food and transportation were the two biggest losses for consumer-focused digital companies. When we consider how the pandemic affects us, it makes sense. We started out staying home, placing online food orders, and avoiding using public transportation.
Asana layoffs 2022
Asana, a provider of work management software, stated on Tuesday that it was laying off 9% of its whole workforce to cut down on operating expenses, following other technology firms that are doing the same to confront the worldwide economic crisis.
The company’s chief operating officer (COO), Anne Raimondi, said on LinkedIn on Tuesday that it was reducing the size of its anticipated 1,600-person global workforce.
Let’s examine tech layoffs in 2022 together to learn more about what is occurring now and what will happen after.
Biggest tech layoffs in 2022
According to the size of the company and the number of employees being let go as of this writing, the following tech companies will see the largest layoffs in 2022:
- Meta layoffs 2022: 11,000
- Amazon layoffs 2022: 10,000
- Snap layoffs 2022: 6,000
- Getir layoffs 2022: 4,480
- Twitter layoffs 2022: 3,700
- Bytedance layoffs 2022: 3600
- Salesforce layoffs 2022: 2,100
- Stripe layoffs 2022:1,100
- Coinbase layoffs 2022: 1,100
- Microsoft layoffs 2022: 1,000
- Netflix layoffs 2022: 450
- Tesla layoffs 2022: 229
Let us quickly remind you what happened.
Meta
Meta laid off 13% of its staff, or more than 11,000 employees, due to economic difficulties. It is the most significant tech layoff of 2022 so far.
”Today I’m sharing some of the most difficult changes we’ve made in Meta’s history. I’ve decided to reduce the size of our team by about 13% and let more than 11,000 of our talented employees go. We are also taking a number of additional steps to become a leaner and more efficient company by cutting discretionary spending and extending our hiring freeze through Q1.”
Amazon
The largest labor cut in company history happened on Amazon‘s side, which let go of 10,000 people working in corporate and technical positions.
Snap
The parent company of Snapchat, Snap, has put on hold a number of projects, including the Pixy photo-taking drone and its lineup of Snap Originals premium programs, after cutting 20% of its workforce.
Getir
The Getir layoffs will have an impact on 4480 individuals worldwide. Getir, a $12 billion rapid delivery firm that offers minute-by-minute delivery of groceries and other things, is laying off 14% of its staff worldwide. It is one of the biggest in tech layoffs 2022.
As the pandemic ends, tech companies that deal with food are particularly impacted by layoffs. The layoffs have impacted 4,480 employees because the Turkish corporation employs 32,000 people throughout its nine regions.
Twitter has warned colleagues that it will “reduce our global workforce” on Friday, November 4. With the layoffs, Musk is attempting to limit Twitter’s expenses.
ByteDance
The ByteDance video gaming division of the massive Chinese company laid off hundreds of employees. Chinese regulatory authorities have stepped up their pressure on domestic tech behemoths to end their monopoly in the internet sector since last year.
Salesforce
Salesforce, a maker of commercial cloud software, let 2,100 employees go.
“Our sales performance process drives accountability. Unfortunately, that can lead to some leaving the business, and we support them through their transition.”
Stripe
Over 1,100 employees, or 14% of the workforce, were let go by online payments company Stripe last week.
Stripe will offer a 14-week severance payout to all departing workers, with additional payments made to individuals who stayed with the company for longer. Additionally, it will cover six months’ worth of previous or present healthcare premiums.
According to reports, Stripe‘s internal valuation dropped from $95 billion in July to $74 billion.
Coinbase
In June, Coinbase revealed that it had reduced full-time workers by 18%, or about 1,100 people. The CEO of Coinbase, Brian Armstrong, issued warnings about possible recessions, the need to limit costs, and “too rapid” expansion during bull markets.
Microsoft
Microsoft stated that fewer than 1% of its employees were let go. The reductions had a minimal impact on less than 1,000 people.
For the quarter ending on September 30, Microsoft had previously predicted the weakest revenue growth in more than five years.
Netflix
Netflix‘s membership base began to fall for the first time in 2022 due to fierce competition from rivals like Disney+ and a widely publicized crackdown on password sharing.
Sluggish revenue growth was cited as the cause of the 300 layoffs in June, which followed the loss of 150 jobs in May.
Tesla
Given that Elon Musk had recently announced to Bloomberg that he would be reducing the workforce by up to 10%, it was believed that his Tesla company would lay off 229 employees in June. Affected were salaried individuals, the most of whom were supposedly data annotation specialists.
Tech companies that have slowed or frozen hiring
Not all solutions for taking precautions involve layoffs. Some businesses reduced or stopped employment, which also damages the industry. The tech firms that have reduced or stopped hiring are as follows:
Microsoft
Microsoft drastically cut employment for its Teams, Office, and Windows software divisions in late May. Only recent growth is to blame for the downturn on these teams.
As the start of the new fiscal year draws near, a Microsoft spokesperson told Bloomberg that the company is “making sure the right resources are aligned to the right opportunity.” On July 20, the corporation removed a large number of job listings, including those for its cloud and security business areas.
Nvidia
Nvidia stated that recruiting would slow down in the later part of the year during its results call in May. According to Nvidia, the decision is being made “to focus our budget on caring for existing employees as inflation persists.”
Lyft
In order to focus on the most important available positions, Lyft said in May that it will halt hiring. In a memo to the staff, company president John Zimmer stated that cost-cutting measures would be taken due to “an economic slowdown and the dramatic change in investor sentiment.”
Uber
According to an email CEO Dara Khosrowshahi wrote to staff, Uber is cutting hiring and other costs in reaction to a “seismic shift” in the market. Khosrowshahi contends that recruiting should be viewed as a “privilege,” and that doing so will enable the company to spend less on its “least efficient” marketing and incentive programs. It closed down its Lithuanian office in Vilnius in the middle of September.
Salesforce
According to an internal memo, Salesforce reduced employment and other costs in May, including those associated with scheduled off-site meetings and business travel. The business gave no justification for the budget reduction. The stock price of Salesforce has decreased by over 50% during the last six months.
Meta
At an internal all-hands meeting, Mark Zuckerberg reassured the staff that no job layoffs are anticipated. However, Meta is reportedly the largest corporation to announce a hiring freeze for a limited number of positions as it attempts to rein in expenditure during a “industry-wide downturn.”
On June 30, Zuckerberg reportedly told employees the company to slash its hiring goals for engineers by at least 30% this year and warned them to brace for “one of the worst downturns that we’ve seen in recent history.” The hiring reductions will affect “almost every team across the company” and last for the rest of the year.
Spotify
The CEO of Spotify, Daniel Ek, sent an email to the team announcing a 25% reduction in hiring objectives. Before this, CFO Paul Vogel stated that the company would evaluate headcount soon and is “clearly aware of the increasing uncertainty regarding the global economy”
Google, which is owned by Alphabet, informed staff on July 20 that hiring will stop for two weeks in addition to its previous announcement that it would slow expenditure and hiring during the remainder of the year. According to senior VP Prabhakar Raghavan, the hold won’t affect current offers, but the company won’t issue any new ones until the delay is over.
Will tech layoffs continue?
Tech companies have gone through a decade of tremendous growth and extravagant expenditure. However, this week, Silicon Valley businesses that announced massive layoffs could be a leading indicator for the economy given the impending global recession, which may be considerably longer and harsher than many anticipate.
Due to the shifting economic landscape, tech companies may need to slow down their recent expansion and spending boom in favor of cost-cutting measures when possible.
That covers all of our thoughts and information about tech layoffs after the pandemic. We hope that none of our readers are affected by big companies’ layoff policies. If you would like to read more about Microsoft‘s downsizing policy give our article Microsoft layoffs 2022 explained a chance.
