Tech companies have cut 34,000 jobs so far this year on the back of new investments in technology.
As of Sunday (February 11), a total of 141 companies had cut employees this year, according to the report. layoff.fyi, which monitors unemployment rates in the high-tech sector. Some of those companies are PayPal, eBay, microsoft and snap.
These layoffs are a result of technology companies evaluating their staffing levels and saying, “We are… bunch of dead trees. And a leaner organization could do more,” Jefferies analyst Brent Till told the Financial Times on Sunday.
“The layoffs will continue and the situation could get even worse. It has become contagious,” Thil added.
Daniel Keum, an associate professor of business administration at Columbia Business School, said in a report for the FT that technology companies are assessing which sectors they want to prioritize investment in and cutting jobs in costly but non-core areas. Ta.
An example of this is Amazon’s Twitch video streaming platform. Eliminated hundreds of people Number of jobs this year. Kum added that companies are engaged in “aggressive recruitment” as a result of this year’s workforce reductions.
Meta, which has cut more than 20,000 jobs since the end of 2022, said hiring will be “minimal” this year but will make “significant investments” in generative AI, including hiring new talent.
This year’s layoffs aren’t just limited to the tech industry. As PYMNTS wrote last week, companies like UPS and black rock has recently undergone significant layoffs, and AI is playing a role in these decisions.
“However, many companies are hesitant to provide direct information. Connecting technology and downsizingInstead, it focuses on the positive aspects of AI adoption,” the report states.
For example, UPS acknowledged that technologies such as AI are contributing to job losses; largest in history — The company says AI will not replace workers. Rather, for example, machine learning can help salespeople create proposals without relying on pricing experts for guidance.
“The true impact of AI on workforce reductions is difficult to estimate,” PYMNTS writes. “According to the outplacement support company, Challenger, Gray & Christmas, U.S. companies have announced more than 4,600 job cuts since May, either to free up resources to hire people with AI expertise or because AI technology has replaced certain jobs. ing. “
However, this estimate is believed to be an underestimate of the actual number of layoffs. Executive Vice President Andrew Challenger suggested that many companies want to keep these layoffs under the radar because publicizing them often attracts negative media attention. There is.
