Topline
More than 81,000 employees lost their jobs in major U.S. layoffs in January alone—the most in any one month since Forbes started tracking layoffs last summer—including major cuts at Amazon, Google, Salesforce and Microsoft, as fears of an economic downturn that prompted more than 120 U.S. companies to implement major layoffs last year persist into 2023.
Amazon, Google, IBM, 3M and Salesforce all conducted major layoffs in January.
Key Facts
The biggest round of job cuts in January came from Amazon, which added to its November layoffs to slash more than 18,000 employees, with CEO Andy Jassy saying the company faces an “uncertain economy” after rapid growth during the Covid-19 pandemic.
Alphabet, the parent company of Google, announced on January 20 that it would slash 12,000 worldwide jobs in a restructuring plan, following Microsoft’s decision to cut 10,000 employees amid “times of significant change” as customers “do more with less.”
In the past week alone, San Jose, California-based cloud data management company NetApp announced in a Securities and Exchange Commission filing that it would cut 8% of its staff (roughly 960 employees), blaming the cuts on “macroeconomic challenges” and reduced consumer spending, joining other tech companies including PayPal—which said it would cut 7% of its company (2,000 positions)—as well as Salesforce (7,900) and HubSpot (500 employees).
Groupon also laid off 500 employees as part of a restructuring plan last month, according to an SEC filing, representing 15% of its workforce, following its decision to cut another 500 employees last August.
Software company IBM also reportedly let go of 3,900 employees, while toy maker Hasbro cut 1,000 positions, furniture e-commerce company Wayfair cut 1,750, chemical company Dow slashed 2,000, Spotify cut 600, manufacturing giant 3M cut 2,500 and vacation rental management company Vacasa let go of 1,300.
Recent layoffs also affected big banks, including Capital One, which reportedly reduced its headcount by 1,100, and Goldman Sachs, which reportedly cut 3,200 employees, as well as cryptocurrency companies like Crypto.com (2,500 employees), Gemini (100) and Coinbase (950).
Key Background
Rising inflation rates and fears that the economy could topple into a recession sparked a wave of layoffs last summer that carried into the fall and winter, with roughly 125,000 U.S. employees being let go in major rounds of job cuts between June and December that spanned from big banks to tech companies and manufacturers, according to Forbes’ layoff tracker. Those cuts, at more than 120 companies, followed reports that inflation hit a 40-year high last summer led by gas prices, which hit an all-time high at $5.02 per gallon on average last June, and as home sales collapsed as the housing market cooled from its pandemic high. Roughly 46,000 U.S. employees lost their jobs in major cuts in the month of November alone, according to Forbes’ tracker, following four rounds of interest rate hikes by the Federal Reserve intended to curb rising inflation (the Fed has since implemented two more rounds of hikes, including one this week with a target range of 4.5% to 4.75%).
News Peg
In the first two days of February, electric automaker Rivian announced it would cut 6% of its staff, delivery giant FedEx announced a 10% cut of its officer and directors, and Boston-based online sports betting company DraftKings said it would cut 140 positions (3.5% of its staff). Social media platform Pinterest, meanwhile laid off 150 employees (5%) while Impossible Foods cut roughly 140 (20%), Bloomberg reported. Struggling retainer Bed Bath & Beyond has also reportedly began its latest round of layoffs, according to a message to employees, although the company did not specify how many employees would be affected by the cuts.
Further Reading
Nearly 60,000 Laid Off In January So Far As Major Firms Increase Cuts (Forbes)
2023 Layoffs: Rivian Automotive Cuts 6% While FedEx Slashes 10% Of Management Jobs (Forbes)
Goldman Sachs Will Reportedly Cut More Than 3,000 Jobs—As Major Layoffs Continue Into 2023 (Forbes)
Source: https://www.forbes.com/sites/brianbushard/2023/02/02/more-than-81000-employees-laid-off-in-major-us-layoffs-in-january/