It all, in a way, started from 2023 and aftershocks continue in 2024. In January, more than 32,000 employees were terminated as major tech companies such as Google and Amazon continued to decrease their workforce.
February 2024 is no different. The month began with an announcement by Snapchat, stating its intention to cut 10 per cent of its workforce, impacting roughly 500-plus employees. The company said it was needed due to restructuring.
As the month draws to a close, there are reports of many more tech companies firing employees, either because of their own restructuring plans, or to reduce costs. Most recent are Sony, which is laying off employees in PlayStation division, and dating app Bumble. But there are some more as well, hinting that the job uncertainty remains in the tech industry even if it doesn’t seem to be as volatile as it was in 2023. And, unlike 2023, there seems that some hirings are now going on in the industry, even though layoffs also persist.
So, let’s take a look at the tech companies that have let go of employees in February 2024.
Snap: This is the parent company of Snapchat. A few weeks ago in early January Snap announced that it would be letting go of around 10 per cent employees. This means around 530 employees have been impacted the layoffs. Snap said that the layoffs were because the company was trying to reduce its cost.
Apple: Of all the tech companies, Apple has been relatively resilient even as Google and Facebook and others have fired thousands of employees. But this year, Apple is also reportedly letting go of some employees because the company is shutting its electric car project. This project apparently had around 2000 employees working on it. Of these, many of the employees have been shifted to Apple’s AI projects, which have become more important for Apple as the company hopes to compete with OpenAI and Google on AGI. The rest of the employees have been asked to choose internal transfer, but it is also likely that some of the employees from this lot of 2000 would be asked to leave.
Sony: Just days ago Sony announced that it is laying off around 900 employees in its Playstation division. The impacted employees work in Sony offices around the world, although it seems that the Playstation Studio in London was hit particularly bad. Announcing the decision in a blog, Sony noted: “We looked at our studios and our portfolio, evaluating projects in various stages of development, and have decided that some of those projects will not move forward. (We) want to be clear that the decision to stop work on these projects is not a reflection on the talent or passion of team members.”
Cisco: Although Cisco has not revealed figures related to its layoffs, the company did announce two weeks ago that it is letting go of some employees to reduce cost and as part of its restructuring plans. A Reuters report, attributed to sources, noted that the company was preparing for a business restructuring that would involve terminating thousands of employees.
Mozilla: Compared to tech giants, Mozilla – the company behind Firefox – doesn’t employ a lot of people. But it too has embarked on some cuts to streamline its costs and operations. A few weeks ago reports noted that Mozilla is firing around 5 per cent of its employees, impacting around 60 people.
Amazon: Although it happened around 5 weeks ago and not strictly in February, it is worth noting. Amazon is downsizing its Prime entertainment division. This impacted around 5 per cent employees. Although there is no exact number, reports noted that around 30 employees were impacted in the Prime division due to these layoffs.
Expedia: This popular travel-site too has joined the layoff list as it aims to cut costs. Around 1500 employees jobs at Expedia have been impacted, constituting around 9 per cent of its global workforce. “The business continues to evaluate the appropriate allocation of resources to ensure the most important work continues to be prioritised,” an Expedia Group spokesperson told Reuters as the company announced the planned layoffs.
Bumble: Looks like even dating apps have been hit. Well, surely Bumble has been hit. Just a day ago Bumble, as it announced somewhat dampening financial results, also said that it is cutting around 350 jobs. The job cuts came as the company projected a tough revenue environment for Bumble and noted that in future business growth is expected to remain slow.
