About 1,600 workers have gotten the pink slip every day in 2023 so far, according to tracking site Layoffs.fyi.
That's as 91 tech companies globally have already laid off 24,151 workers just 15 days into 2023, according to data aggregated by Layoffs.ai. This is already about 15% of the 154,256 workers who were laid off by over a thousand tech companies in 2022.
Amazon, Meta, and Salesforce top Layoffs.fyi's list with about 18,000, 11,000, and 8,000 staffers laid-off, respectively, between November 2022 and January 2023.
The layoffs at Amazon primarily affected those in corporate roles, including those in the company's Devices and Books businesses and human resource department, Insider's Samantha Delouya reported on January 5. Meta cut positions across the company, including its Reality Labs division overseeing metaverse initiatives, while Salesforce's headcount reduction hit the Slack and MuleSoft business units.
The rash of layoffs — which started last year — came after tech companies hired and expanded aggressively during the pandemic. But they started conducting widespread layoffs in late 2022, as earnings weakened across the board amid fears of an impending recession. This also spilled over into 2023.
Amazon and Salesforce announced in the first week of the year they were collectively cutting over 25,000 jobs. Other tech companies that have slashed headcount include media company Vimeo and supply chain software firm Flexport.
And it's not just the tech sector that's laying off staff either.
Last week, banking giant Goldman Sachs started laying off 3,000 employees globally as dealmaking slows. BlackRock, the world's largest asset management firm, is also slashing up to 500 roles for the first time in four years.
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