Blindsided Amazon workers describe ‘chaos’ as 10,000 told they will lose their jobs

In recent weeks, a host of tech companies have announced cost-cutting measures, with Amazon, Apple and Google parent Alphabet all announcing job cuts or freezes.

For the tech sector, the pandemic boom has turned into a post-pandemic bust, as rising interest rates hammer stock prices and inflation erodes profits.

The sector shed 9,587 jobs in October, the highest monthly total since November 2020, according to data from consulting firm Challenger, Gray & Christmas cited by Bloomberg.

The total number of layoffs announced by U.S.-based employers rose 13 percent to 33,843 in October, the highest since February 2021, according to a report.

Meta

The Facebook parent said in November it would cut 13 percent of its workforce, or more than 11,000 employees, in one of the biggest tech layoffs this year as it grapples with a weak advertising market and rising costs.

Like its peers, Meta hired aggressively during the pandemic to meet an increase in social media use by consumers stuck at home.

However, the pandemic boom has ebbed as advertisers and consumers cut back on spending in the face of skyrocketing costs and rapidly rising interest rates.

After pouring billions into CEO Mark Zuckerberg’s Metaverse vision with little to show for it, Meta has faced rising costs and shrinking profits.

Meta, once worth more than $1 trillion, is now valued at $256 billion after losing more than 70 percent of its value this year alone.

“Not only has online commerce returned to previous trends, but the macroeconomic downturn, increased competition and loss of ad signals have caused our revenue to be much lower than I would have expected,” Zuckerberg said in a message to employees, according to Reuters.

“I’m wrong, and I take responsibility for it.”

On a brief call Wednesday, a red-eyed Zuckerberg addressed employees but took no questions.

He stuck to a script that closely followed the wording in the morning’s blog post and called the increased investments in e-commerce a ‘big mistake in planning’.

Twitter

Twitter laid off half its workforce in teams ranging from communications and content curation to product and technology after Elon Musk’s $44 billion takeover.

The cuts affected roughly 3,700 employees, who learned their fate by email last week.

However, Bloomberg reported on Sunday that Twitter reached out to dozens of employees who lost their jobs and asked them to return.

Salesforce

On Monday, cloud-based software company Salesforce quietly laid off hundreds of employees.

The exact number of job losses was unclear, but it was less than 1,000, according to CNBC.

“Our sales performance process drives accountability. Unfortunately, that may lead to some leaving the business, and we are supporting them through their transition,” a Salesforce spokesperson told CNBC in a statement.

Salesforce had 73,541 employees at the end of January.

The company said in an August filing that the number of employees increased by 36 percent in the past year “to meet the higher demand for services from our customers.”

Amazon

Amazon executives are said to be planning to lay off 10,000 people in corporate and technology jobs as early as this week in what would be the biggest cuts in the company’s history.

The cuts would focus primarily on Amazon’s devices, including the Alexa voice assistant, sources familiar with the discussions told the New York Times, as well as its retail division and human resources.

The move comes as the company reportedly lost $1 trillion in the year after the stock plummeted from a peak during the pandemic.

The move comes after the company imposed a hiring freeze, affecting major teams including Prime Video, Alexa and Amazon Fresh.

“We are facing an unusual macroeconomic environment and want to balance our hiring and investments with being thoughtful about this economy,” wrote Beth Galetti, senior vice president of employee experience and technology at Amazon, in a memo seen by the Wall Street Journal.

Intel

Intel Corp CEO Pat Gelsinger told Reuters that “people actions” would be part of a cost-cutting plan.

The chipmaker recently said it would cut costs by $3 billion in 2023, then increase that to $10 billion by 2025.

The adjustments would begin in the fourth quarter, Gelsinger said, but did not specify how many employees would be affected.

Some Intel divisions, including the sales and marketing group, could be cut by up to 20 percent, Bloomberg News reported last month, citing people with knowledge of the situation.

The company had 113,700 employees in July, when it cut its annual sales forecast by $11 billion after missing estimates for second-quarter earnings.

Intel, based in Santa Clara, California, declined to comment on the cuts when reached by DailyMail.com in October.

Intel has been hit by changing market trends, including the decline of traditional PCs as smartphones and tablets rise in popularity.

Last quarter, global PC shipments, including desktops and laptops, fell another 15 percent from a year ago, according to IDC.

Microsoft

Microsoft laid off fewer than 1,000 employees across multiple divisions last month, according to Axios.

The layoffs represent less than half of 1 percent of the company’s 221,000 employees globally, ABC News reported.

But the cuts affect everything from Microsoft’s Xbox console gaming division to its advanced Microsoft Strategic Missions and Technology organization.

In a statement, Microsoft executives said: “Like any company, we evaluate our business priorities regularly and make structural adjustments accordingly.

“We will continue to invest in our business and hire in key growth areas over the coming year.”

Microsoft executives announced earlier in July that they would lay off less than 1 percent of their workforce and hire significantly more slowly, as its revenue fell short of investors’ expectations.

The company posted only $51.9 billion in revenue in the second quarter of the year, but was expected to bring in $52.4 billion.

It had previously recorded blockbuster growth during the Covid pandemic, as consumers and businesses turned to its products as they transitioned to a work-from-home model.

Lift

Ride-hailing company Lyft said it would lay off 13 percent of its workforce, or about 683 employees, after it already cut 60 jobs earlier this year and froze hiring in September.

Lyft said in a regulatory filing that it would likely incur $27 million to $32 million in restructuring charges related to the layoffs.

“We are not immune to the realities of inflation and a slowing economy,” Lyft’s founders wrote in the memo to employees.

The company’s share price has fallen 76 percent since the start of the year and is currently around $10, compared to nearly $45 in January.

Lyft founders John Zimmer and Logan Green announced the cuts in a Wall Street Journal memo to staff: “There are several challenges in the economy.

“We are facing a likely recession sometime in the next year and the cost of carpool insurance is increasing.

“We worked hard to bring costs down this summer: we slowed and then froze hiring; cut spending; and paused less critical initiatives.

“Still, Lyft needs to get leaner, which requires us to part ways with incredible team members.”

Lyft has about 4,000 employees, not including its drivers.

Apple

While Apple has yet to announce any major layoffs, CEO Tim Cook told CBS Mornings that it is also slowing some hiring.

“What we’re doing as a consequence of being in this period is we’re being very deliberate in our recruitment,” he said. “That means we’re continuing to hire, but not everywhere in the company we’re hiring.”

But at the same time, Cook said “we don’t believe you can save your way to prosperity.”

“We think you’re betting on it,” he said.