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Factbox-Tech firms leading job cuts in Corporate America

[January 09, 2023] (Reuters) - Big Tech firms are leading a string of layoffs across corporate America as companies look to rein in costs to ride out the economic downturn.

Rapid interest rate hikes, weak consumer demand and an economic slowdown in China have forced firms such as Amazon, Walt Disney, Facebook-owner Meta and American banks to trim their workforce.

As a pandemic-led demand boom rapidly wanes, tech companies shed more than 150,000 workers in 2022, according to tracking site Layoffs.fyi, and more layoffs are expected as growth in the world's biggest economies start to slow.

Here are some of the major job cuts by American companies announced in recent weeks:

Technology, media and telecom companies:

Amazon.com Inc:

The e-commerce giant said company-wide layoffs would impact over 18,000 employees, raising the figure from 10,000 layoffs it announced months ago.

Meta Platforms Inc:

The Facebook-parent said it would cut 13% of its workforce, or more than 11,000 employees, in one of the biggest tech layoffs this year as it grapples with a weak advertising market and mounting costs.

AMC Networks Inc:

The cable TV network said it would cut about 20% of its U.S. workforce, as it announced Chief Executive Officer Christina Spade had stepped down, less than three months into the role.

Intel Corp:

CEO Pat Gelsinger told Reuters "people actions" would be part of a cost-reduction plan. The chipmaker said it would reduce costs by $3 billion in 2023.

The adjustments would start in the fourth quarter, Gelsinger said, but did not specify how many employees would be affected.

Microsoft Corp:

The software giant laid off under 1,000 employees across several divisions in October, Axios reported, citing a source.

Twitter Inc:

The social media company laid off half its workforce across teams ranging from communications and content curation to product and engineering following Elon Musk's $44 billion takeover.

However, Bloomberg later reported Twitter was reaching out to dozens of employees who lost their jobs, asking them to return.

Twitter has since made further staff cuts in the trust and safety team handling global content moderation and in the unit related to hate speech and harassment, Bloomberg news reported.

Seagate Technology Holdings Plc:

The memory chip firm announced a restructuring plan including reducing worldwide headcount by about 8%, or 3,000 employees.

Lyft Inc:

The ride-hailing firm said it would lay off 13% of its workforce, or about 683 employees, after it already cut 60 jobs earlier this year and froze hiring in September.

Warner Bros Discovery:

Film subsidiary Warner Bros. Pictures is planning to cut a number of jobs in distribution and marketing that will reduce headcount by 5% to 10%, Bloomberg News reported.

Roku Inc:

The video-streaming device maker said it would reduce its headcount by 5%, or about 200 employees, due to "current economic conditions".

TuSimple Holdings Inc

The autonomous driving technology company will lay off 25% of its workforce, or nearly 350 employees, as part of a restructuring plan to rein in costs.

Micron Technology Inc

The memory chipmaker will cut 10% of its workforce in 2023 and would reduce its capex plans for fiscal 2024, citing a nagging glut in the semiconductor market.

Salesforce Inc

The software company said it would lay off about 10% of its employees and close some offices as a part of its restructuring plan, citing a challenging economy.

Arrival SA:

The EV startup said it plans to further "right-size" the organization, which could have a "sizable impact" on its global workforce, mostly in the UK.

The company in July said it may cut up to 30% of workforce in restructuring.

Opendoor Technologies Inc:

The property-selling platform is laying off about 550 employees, Chief Executive Officer Eric Wu said, adding that the company had already reduced its workforce by more than 830 positions.

Cisco Systems Inc:

The networking and collaboration solutions company said it will undertake restructuring which could impact roughly 5% of its workforce. The effort will begin in the second quarter of the fiscal year 2023 and cost the company $600 million.

HP Inc:

The computing devices maker said it expected to cut up to 6,000 jobs by the end of fiscal 2025.

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Job seekers wait before a job fair for airport related employment at Logan International Airport in Boston, Massachusetts, U.S., December 7, 2021. REUTERS/Brian Snyder

CNN:

Warner Bros Discovery-owned CNN's top boss Chris Licht informed employees in an all-staff memo that job cuts were underway.

Buzzfeed Inc:

The online media company said it will cut about 12% of its workforce. As of Dec. 31 last year, the company had 1,522 employees in six countries.

Financial firms:

Goldman Sachs Group Inc:

The premier Wall Street investment bank will start cutting thousands of jobs across the firm, two sources familiar with the move told Reuters, as it prepares for a tough economic environment in the year ahead.

The job cuts are expected to be just over 3,000, one of the sources said, but the final number is yet to be determined.

Morgan Stanley:

The Wall Street powerhouse is expected to start a fresh round of layoffs globally in the coming weeks, Reuters reported on Nov. 3, as dealmaking business takes a hit.

Citigroup Inc:

The bank eliminated dozens of jobs across its investment banking division, as a dealmaking slump continues to weigh on Wall Street's biggest banks, Bloomberg News reported.

Kraken:

The cryptocurrency exchange said it would cut its global workforce by 30%, or about 1,100 employees, citing tough market conditions that have crippled demand for digital assets this year.

Genesis:

The cryptocurrency firm has cut 30% of its workforce in a second round of layoffs in less than six months, a person familiar with the matter told Reuters.

Coinbase Global:

The cryptocurrency exchange said it planned to cut over 60 jobs, in its recruiting and institutional onboarding teams.

The move marks a second round of jobs cuts at the company this year, and comes at a time when cryptocurrencies have been roiled by extreme volatility as investors dump risky assets.

Chime Financial Inc:

The online banking firm has laid off 12% of its employees, or about 160 jobs, a spokesperson said.

Stripe Inc:

The digital payments firm is cutting its headcount by about 14% and will have about 7,000 employees after the layoffs, according to an email to employees from the company's founders.

Consumer and retail companies:

Beyond Meat Inc:

The vegan meat maker said it plans to cut 200 jobs this year, with the layoffs expected to save about $39 million.

Blue Apron Holdings Inc:

The online meal-kit company said it will cut about 10% of its corporate workforce, as it looks to reduce costs and streamline operations. The company had about 1,657 full-time employees, as of Sept. 30.

Stitch Fix Inc:

The online personalized styling service firm said it will cut about 20% of its salaried positions. The company had about 7,920 full- and part-time employees as of July 30.

Wolverine World Wide Inc:

The casual footwear and apparel retailer said it had initiated a workforce reduction earlier this week and expects this initiative to result in about $30 million in savings in 2023.

DoorDash Inc:

The food delivery firm, which enjoyed a growth surge during the pandemic, said it was reducing its corporate headcount by about 1,250 employees.

Energy and resources firms:

Chesapeake Energy Corp:

The U.S. shale gas producer cut about 3% of its workforce, sources told Reuters, as the company readies a sale of South Texas oil properties.

Phillips 66:

The refiner reduced employee headcount by over 1,100 as it seeks to meet its 2022 cost savings target of $500 million. The reductions were communicated to employees in late October.

Health and pharmaceutical companies:

Johnson & Johnson:

The pharmaceutical giant has said it might cut some jobs amid inflationary pressure and a strong dollar, with CFO Joseph Wolk saying the healthcare conglomerate is looking at "right sizing" itself.

(Reporting by Deborah Sophia in Bengaluru; Additional reporting by Akash Sriram, Granth Vanaik, Eva Mathews, Yuvraj Malik and Manya Saini; Editing by Vinay Dwivedi, Shounak Dasgupta and Shinjini Ganguli)

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