News of layoffs can be emotionally shattering, evoking self-doubt and a flood of devastating thoughts. After being laid off, employees often find their career expectations replaced by uncertainties about the future. The fear of financial crisis is also strongly associated with the term ‘layoff’.

However, layoffs have the potential to reshape the economic, political, and social fabric of affected economies, creating ripple effects that cannot be overlooked. Workforce reductions occur for various reasons, including economic slowdowns, increased automation, company restructuring, and reduced discretionary spending. Some experts believe that the current decrease in employment is also due to over-hiring during the COVID-19 boom and the subsequent decline in industry demand. Companies hired many workers during the pandemic, anticipating it to be the new norm, but as demand contracts, they are now cutting back. Automation and restructuring also enable companies to operate with fewer employees. This combination of factors is leading to significant headcount reductions across various industries.

The years 2022-23 saw a large number of layoffs by both big and small companies. This trend continues in 2024, with 60,000 job cuts already reported by 254 companies, according to the independent layoff tracker Layoffs.fyi. Major IT firms like Microsoft, Google, Amazon, Tesla, and TikTok have laid off a significant portion of their workforce in January 2024. Smaller startups have also been forced to lay off employees, and in extreme cases, some have had to shut down operations entirely.

Both large and small companies are increasingly incorporating Generative AI into their operations to create more efficient and faster solutions and services. While firms have the right to adopt the latest technologies to meet business demands and minimize costs, the human aspect of these decisions cannot be ignored. The impact of automation on jobs previously considered safe remains a critical concern.

Lay Off List

In January 2024, 19,350 employees were laid off, followed by 15,589 in February and 7,403 in March. In April, a total of 22,153 workers lost their jobs, and in May, another 9,882 employees were terminated.

So far in the current month of June, over 4,000 employees have been fired, and many organizations are planning significant reductions in their workforce. Unit is planning to lay off 15% of its workforce, Loop has announced more layoffs on LinkedIn, and Paytm is conducting extensive job cuts across the company, though the exact number is currently unknown. Microsoft has cut hundreds of staff from its Azure cloud business, and Google is implementing large-scale layoffs globally within its Cloud teams. Ginkgo Bioworks plans to cut more jobs after terminating 158 employees. Meanwhile, Running Tide has laid off its remaining employees and completely shut down operations, despite raising over $50 million in funds since 2017.  

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