Year 2022 has been the year of so many things- Omicron Virus spread, inflation surge, hybrid work model and then its eventual ending. Year 2022 was an eventful one with its own share of ups and downs teaching us the ways of life. Of the many things that made it to the newsroom this year, tech companies have been the major contributors to the headlines.
Year 2022 saw a massive round of job cuts and hiring freezes by tech companies. Almost all major tech giants like Tesla, Amazon, Apple, Microsoft and Twitter have trimmed their headcounts at work space, some even did it more than once reflecting the uncertainty which lies ahead. To combat issues like geopolitical turmoil, supply chain mismatch and surging economic inflation, tech companies announced massive layoffs to cut down on their operational costs and support their balance sheet.
As this year comes close to its end and the world is gearing up to usher into a new year, here’s looking back at some of the major tech layoffs that were announced this year.
Adobe
Adobe has announced to lay off its 100 employees, mostly from its sales team. The multinational computer software company has said that it is not doing “company-wide layoffs” and is still looking to hire for critical roles.
HP
HP plans to reduce its headcount between 4000 to 6,000 employees or 12 percent of its global workforce over the next three years. It blames poor PC sales, which were high during the pandemic, but have since been declining due to rising inflation and households cutting down on expenses.
Amazon
While Amazon has not given any numbers, it is speculated that the company has removed some 10,000 employees and plans to have more layoffs in 2023. The Amazon CEO, Andy Jassy, in a post has said that layoffs are part of the company’s annual planning process which extends into the new year, which means there will be more role reductions next year.
Meta
Meta has confirmed cutting 10% of the company workforce which is 11,000 roles. Company’s CEO Mark Zuckerberg has said that those impacted will receive 16 weeks’ severance, plus two weeks’ pay for each year they have been with the company. They’ll also receive additional health and career benefits.
The company has blamed this on poor earnings, soaring costs, macroeconomic downturn, increased competition, and ads signal loss.
Twitter has been in headlines round the year with job cuts being the second big reason for this after Musk’s acquisition. The company, since getting its new CEO, has seen a massive round of job firing including C suite and nearly half of its global workforce.
The mounting pressure of new working conditions at Twitter 2.0 also led to many employees resigning from their jobs at the company. This has to be one of the most controversial and biggest tech layoffs of this year.
Microsoft
Technology major Microsoft is also in this race. The company has let go off its 1000 employees from its Xbox, Edge and Devices teams. Before this, it had fired around 1800 employees in July this year.
Intel
Intel is said to fire about 20 percent of its staff due to sharp decline in sales. Company’s Habana Labs announced to remove its 10 per cent workforce to help adjust to current business reality.
Apple
Apple has reportedly paused all hiring till 2023. The company has reportedly halted hiring for jobs outside its research and development as part of its plan to cut costs for the next year. The company is also said to be dropping the launch of iPhone SE 2023.
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