Over 1.3L tech employees laid off in 2024
The technology industry is experiencing a significant surge in layoffs this year, with over 1.32 lakh job cuts reported across 404 companies. This trend was highlighted by Seeking Alpha, noting that tech giants Cisco and Intel have recently announced the elimination of nearly 21,000 jobs combined. The current rate of job cuts suggests that this year's total may surpass the figure from two years ago, but is unlikely to reach last year's high.
Cisco and Intel announce major job cuts
Cisco has revealed a restructuring plan that involves reducing its global workforce by 7%. This announcement marks the second wave of mass layoffs at the company this year, following an earlier decision in February to cut 4,000 jobs. Concurrently, Intel has disclosed plans to lay off around 15,000 employees or 15% of its global staff.
Intel's CEO explains rationale behind layoffs
Intel's CEO, Pat Gelsinger, explained the company's decision to reduce its workforce in a note to employees. He stated that the company needs to "align our cost structure with our new operating model and fundamentally change the way we operate." Gelsinger cited lower-than-expected revenue growth and high costs as reasons for this action. He emphasized the need for bold measures to improve financial performance in light of a challenging outlook for the second half of 2024.
Hardware companies bear the brunt
The current wave of layoffs has significantly impacted hardware companies. According to Layoffs.fyi, a platform that tracks job cuts in the tech sector, these firms have already reported over 24,706 layoffs this year. This figure surpasses the total number of job cuts in hardware companies for both 2022 and 2023 combined. The data underscores the severity of this year's job reduction trend.
Other tech firms join the layoff trend
Several other tech companies have also announced job cuts this year. Microsoft plans to reduce up to 1,500 positions from its Azure cloud operations, while Apple has laid off 614 workers following its decision to discontinue certain projects. Meta has eliminated 50 vice president roles as part of a broader layoff trend, that saw the company cut 21,000 jobs in previous years. Other tech companies like PayPal, Snap and eBay have also cut jobs this year.
