The layoffs of major US tech companies have not stopped. After the massive layoffs of Twitter and Facebook’s parent company Meta, the “New York Times” quoted sources on Monday as saying online shopping giant Amazon (Amazon) will begin to send large envelopes as soon as this week and plans to cut about 1 Ten thousand people work, equal to 3% of the company’s white-collar positions and less than 1% of global employees. The Wall Street Journal also said the company will lay off thousands of people. If true, it would be the largest headcount reduction in Amazon’s history, primarily affecting the devices department, such as the smart assistant’s Alexa technology, as well as the retail and HR departments.
Over the past two decades, technology companies have been the backbone of the booming US stock market and have provided good-paying jobs. However, as the economic environment and inflation deteriorate in the US, technology companies have lost their glory. Amazon announced a white-collar hiring freeze earlier this month, explaining that the company is facing an unusual macroeconomic environment and plans to balance hiring and investments. According to reports, as of this fall, Amazon has hired more than 1.5 million full-time and part-time employees, most of whom are warehouse positions. The layoffs this time are mainly white-collar positions.
A total of 120,000 people have been laid off in the technology sector
Meta announced the layoff of more than 11,000 employees last week and Twitter too retooled its workforce after being acquired by the world’s richest man Musk, cutting about half of its employees to 3,700. According to industry jobs data, 72 companies laid off more than 24,000 tech employees this month, for a total of 120,000 people laid off in the tech sector this year.
Recruiting a large number of manpower during the epidemic
Many companies blame it for two reasons: First, during the COVID-19 pandemic, everyone relied on the internet for work or shopping, and so tech companies recruited large numbers of people. As the pandemic eases, so too does the internet boom, replaced by life offline, and salaries for new recruits now seem too high. When FB founder Zuckerberg announced the Meta layoffs, he also mentioned excessive hiring during the outbreak and declining e-commerce performance. The second reason for the blood flow of technology companies is the uncertain macroeconomic situation, which makes big brands reluctant to spend money on electronic advertising, which is the source of income for many technology companies. Central bank interest rate hikes have also raised the cost of capital for companies.
Originally released on AM730 https://www.am730.com.hk/International/American tech companies are bleeding into a river-New York Times-Amazon plans to lay off 10,000 people/348070?utm_source=yahoorss&utm_medium=referral
