Tech sector sees largest layoffs in January since 2020

The tech sector has recorded the highest number of monthly layoffs in January, surpassing the figures recorded since 2020 when the Covid-19 pandemic forced companies to reduce their workforce.

According to Layoffs.fyi, a job cut tracking platform, 55,970 tech workers are being dismissed from their jobs across 173 companies.

This massive layoff also exceeded the overall number of employees dismissed in the first 6 months of 2022 and surpassed third-quarter figures in a year that recorded an all-time high.

In the first half of 2022, there were 44,257 reported layoffs in the tech sector with companies dismissing 9,829 staff in the first quarter and 34,243 in the second quarter. The overall layoff in the third quarter was 35,229, a number yet to meet the January figure.

Similarly, in 2020, the highest number of employee layoff which stood at 60,141, was recorded on a quarterly basis in the second quarter of 2022. This number is not too far from the present 55,970 recorded in January despite having more days to end the month.

Big tech companies have so far led the way in the January mass layoffs with the likes of Amazon, Google, and Microsoft together announcing the dismissal of over 42, 000 employees.

Read also: Microsoft closer to supercomputing with multibillion dollar bet on ChatGPT

Microsoft announced it will cut 10,000 jobs this year, about 5 percent of its workforce, resulting in a $1.2 billion charge in the fiscal second quarter.

Amazon announced 10,000 people were laid layoff in November and then cut an additional 8,000 just this week.

Few days after Amazon and Microsoft announced their layoffs, Google said it is letting go of 12,000 workers.

Salesforce, an American cloud-based software company, also laid off 8000 of its workers, a 10 percent reduction of the total workforce.

Also, a recent report from the Spectator Index, a global insight and analysis website shows that Spotify, a giant music streaming platform is laying off six percent of its workforce affecting 600 employees.

Daniel EK, the CEO of Spotify in a Memo said he was too ambitious in investing ahead of the company’s revenue growth.

Over 1600 tech employees are being laid off globally in a day amidst the economic meltdown and recession fears, according to the report.

Apple remains the only big tech company that has not been involved in layoff but is in the middle of a hiring freeze that it says will last until September.