Everyone must be very well aware of the recent layoffs by top tech companies. The list includes big names such as Amazon, Cognizant, Meta, Microsoft, Snap and many others. Apple has not announced any layoffs as of yet but has said that there will be a slowdown in the current hiring process. The situation is quite scary, as lakhs of employees over the globe have already lost their jobs and this is just the beginning. Although the companies have cited several reasons for the same, the major one is about, scaling the profitability of the organization.

Well, now the question arises, how all of a sudden have these companies decided to lay off so many employees? As Silicon Valley’s tough times continue, as an individual, what we can expect? Here, I have discussed about some recent layoffs by top tech companies:

1. Amazon

As per reports, Amazon has laid off about 10,000 of their employees. Amazon said that it is majorly laying employees in one of its devices business, which is its Alexa- enabled Echo devices as well as some in the retail and human resources department. In October, Amazon reported a steep drop in its income due to weakening consumer demand. The company’s net income has fallen from about $3.2 billion to $2.9 billion YoY in Q3 2022. In September, Amazon launched several new devices that include the new Echo speakers and the Kindle e-book readers that can be used to take notes. Amazon's CEO Andy Jassy has said that the decision on how many roles will be impacted is yet to be taken and the company will inform the impacted employees and organisations by early 2023. He blamed the economic downturn and cited it as the major reason which has impacted jobs across industries. Amazon has also shut down its “Amazon Explore”, a virtual shopping feature launched by them during the pandemic. The company had also abandoned its home delivery robot, Scout, as part of its cost-cutting measures.

2. Meta

Meta decided to reduce their company size by about 13% and laid off 11,000 employees based on their performance. Mark Zuckerberg (CEO Meta) in his speech discussed how at the start of the COVID-19 pandemic the world rapidly moved online and a sudden surge in e-commerce services was observed which led to outsized revenue growth. Many people predicted that this would be a permanent acceleration in the sector and it would continue even after the pandemic ends. Even Mark predicted so and increased his investments significantly. Unfortunately, this did not play out the way he as well as others expected. Not only has online commerce returned to prior trends, but the macroeconomic downturn (a situation of a general slowdown in economic activity over a sustained period), increased competition, and ads signal loss have severely impacted the company's revenue. He also debated how Meta has to become more capital efficient. For the same, the company has decided to shift more of its resources onto a comparatively smaller number of high-priority growth areas which include the AI discovery engine, its business platforms, the ads, and its long-term vision for the metaverse. Meta has taken several steps, including scaling back budgets, reducing perks, and shrinking its real estate footprint. But all these measures alone won’t bring the expenses in line. That's why Mark has finally decided to let people go. The sackings impacted professionals across all divisions that include, including Facebook, Instagram, WhatsApp and its VR division. The good part is that the company has promised to pay 16 weeks of base pay to all impacted employees, and two additional weeks for every year of service. It has also decided to provide employees with health insurance benefits and pay for all remaining Paid Time Offs (PTOs). Along with that, Meta has also promised to provide three months of career support with an external vendor for all the laid-off employees.

3. Snapchat

Snapchat’s parent company Snap has decided to cut around 20% of its workforce. The total headcount at Snap was around 6,400 before the layoff. Departments affected include mini-apps and games, and the social mapping application Zenly. Snap has also reported that it has seen a decline in its overall advertising revenue and declared it as the major reason for the same. CEO of snap Evan Spiegel wrote that as the company continue its work to re-accelerate revenue growth, Snap’s long-term success must also be taken care of. He also apologised for these changes and said that these are necessary to ensure the long-term success of the company.

4. Twitter 

When Elon Musk acquired Twitter, layoffs were already expected by everyone. But the way these layoffs have been carried out has evoked criticism for the billionaire. Soon after taking the charge as CEO, he fired Twitter CEO Parag Agrawal, CFO Ned Segal, and Vijaya Gadde, Twitter’s head of legal, trust and safety. This was followed by mass layoffs on November 4, 2022, with an email being sent to the employees informing them about the upcoming job cuts. Some employees were even asked to return home if they were on their way to the office. Elon has fired half of the company’s workforce, that is around 3700 employees. He also ended remote work at Twitter and has asked employees to be present at least 40 hours per week. He has also ended the serving of free food at Twitter’s headquarters. He also warned that the company can bankrupt and said that the road ahead is arduous and will require intense work to succeed.

Some economists have predicted that this could be the worst recession the world will face after 1970. Some ways we all can survive this tough situation include:

1. Have an emergency fund

In case of any mishap, be ready with some emergency money in your hand that can cover your living as well as other expenses until this recession phase ends. The best way to tackle this is if you are a working employee at any organization, try to cut down on your daily expenses, and start saving some money as who knows what the future holds for someone. Stop investing your money in any unnecessary stuff bought to show off or exhibit luxurious life.

2. Stop purchasing big items

Stop the purchase of big houses or cars that you were planning to buy this year. Apart from that cut down on your holiday expenses and save all that money.

3. Don’t quit your current job

Even if you don’t like your current job and are not happy with it, this is not the right time to mend your face with it and quit. Continue with it, and try to switch jobs after the situation normalizes a bit.

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