LDN - Business

Job cuts spill beyond tech sector

[February 10, 2024] (Reuters) - Several U.S. and Canadian companies, mostly in sectors such as technology and media, have kicked of the year with job cuts, as they look to keep a lid on costs in an uncertain economy.

Here is a rundown of layoffs announced so far in 2024:

TECHNOLOGY

* Amazon's job cuts include less than 5% of employees at Buy with Prime unit, 5% at audiobook and podcast division Audible, several hundred in streaming and studio operations, 35% at streaming unit Twitch and a few hundred at healthcare units One Medical and Amazon Pharmacy.* Layoffs at Alphabet include dozens at division for developing new technology X Lab, hundreds in advertising sales team, hundreds across teams, including hardware team responsible for Pixel, Nest and Fitbit, and a majority in augmented reality team.

* Microsoft is cutting around 1,900 jobs at gaming divisions Activision Blizzard and Xbox. * IBM plans to lay off some employees in 2024, but will hire more for AI-centered roles.* E-commerce firm eBay plans to cut about 1,000 roles, or around 9% of its current workforce.

* Videogame software provider Unity Software to cut about 25% of workforce, or 1,800 jobs.

* DocuSign plans to reduce its current workforce by about 6%, or 400 employees, with majority of layoffs in its sales and marketing organizations.

* Snap plans to cut around 528 jobs, or 10% of its global workforce.

* Salesforce is laying off about 700 employees, or roughly 1% of its global workforce. * Network giant Cisco is planning to restructure its business which will include laying off thousands of employees. * Autonomous vehicle technology company Aurora Innovation lays off 3% of its workforce.

MEDIA

* Walt Disney's Pixar Animation Studios is set to cut jobs as the studio has completed production on some shows and has more staff than it needs.

* Comcast-owned British media group Sky plans to cut about 1,000 jobs across its businesses this year.

* The Los Angeles Times plans to lay off 94 journalists who belong to the newspaper's union.

* Paramount Global is planning to conduct unspecified number of layoffs.

* Business Insider plans to lay off around 8% of its staff.

* Bell Canada plans to slash 4,800 jobs.

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A pedestrian is reflected in the window of an empty commercial space in downtown Boston, Massachusetts, U.S., May 23, 2023. REUTERS/Brian Snyder/File Photo

FINANCIAL SERVICES

* PayPal Holdings is planning to cut about 2,500 jobs, or 9% of its global workforce this year.

* Payments firm Block Inc has started to cut unspecified jobs as part of its previously disclosed plans.

* Citigroup is planning to reduce its headcount by 20,000 people over the next two years.

* Exchange operator Nasdaq plans to slash hundreds of jobs as it integrates fintech firm Adenza into its business.

* World's largest asset manager BlackRock is set to cut about 3% of its current workforce, though it expects to have a larger headcount by the end of 2024.

CONSUMER AND RETAIL

* Cosmetics giant Estee Lauder plans to cut 3% to 5% of its global workforce.

* Wayfair plans to lay off 1,650 employees, or about 13% of its workforce.

* U.S. department store chain Macy's is cutting 2,350 jobs and closing five stores.

* Levi Strauss & Co is planning to slash 10% to 15% of global corporate jobs.

* Hershey is planning a restructuring plan that will impact less than 5% of its workforce.

HEALTH

* Novavax is cutting about 12% of total workforce.

MANUFACTURING

* Defense contractor Lockheed Martin is planning to cut 1% of its jobs.

* United Parcel Service plans to cut 12,000 jobs in a bid to cut $1 billion costs after a bumpy year.

NATURAL RESOURCES

* U.S. miner Piedmont Lithium cuts 27% of its workforce as part of a cost-cutting plan.

(Reporting by Zaheer Kachwala, Harshita Mary Varghese, Samrhitha Arunasalam, Arsheeya Bajwa, Priyanka.G and Jaspreet Singh in Bengaluru; Editing by Arpan Varghese and Anil D'Silva)

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