IANS | 15 Jan, 2024
In just two weeks into the New Year, at least 46 IT and tech
companies (including startups) have laid off more than 7,500 employees
and the number is growing by the day, as generative AI (GenAI) threatens
millions of jobs.
The global layoffs, which continued even in the
holiday season late last year, are set to impact the Indian workforce
once again.
According to the latest data from layoff.fyi, a
website that tracks tech sector job cuts, 46 tech companies laid off
7,528 employees (till January 14).
Tech companies, including
startups, around the world fired more than 425,000 employees in 2022 and
2023, with more than 36,000 employees being sacked in India in the same
time frame.
Online rental platform Frontdesk became the first
tech startup to lay off employees in 2024 -- its entire 200-person
workforce -- during a “two-minute Google Meet call”.
Gaming company Unity announced to lay off 25 per cent of its workforce, or about 1,800 employees, in its fresh job cut round.
Google last week confirmed it has cut several hundred jobs across hardware, core engineering and Google Assistant teams.
The
layoffs will impact employees in Google’s hardware and central
engineering teams, as well as workers across Google Assistant, according
to reports.
“To best position us for these opportunities,
throughout the second half of 2023, a number of our teams made changes
to become more efficient and work better, and to align their resources
to their biggest product priorities,” a Google spokesperson had said in a
statement.
“Some teams are continuing to make these kinds of
organisational changes, which include some role eliminations globally,”
the company added.
Amazon-owned audiobook and podcast division
Audible is laying off 5 per cent of its staff, more than 100 employees,
as part of overall job cuts at the e-commerce giant.
Meta started
the New Year with laying off some technical programme managers (TPMs) at
Instagram and reports said that at least 60 such jobs were either being
consolidated or eliminated.
Global data management solutions provider Veeam Software has reportedly laid off 300 employees.
Disney-owned animation studio Pixar is also set to cut jobs this year, the media reported.
Global
banking major Citigroup will reduce 10 per cent of its workforce, or
about 20,000 employees, in the next two years in a major corporate
overhaul.
