From the US to Europe to Asia, global tech giants such as Microsoft, Google, Amazon and SAP have laid off thousands of employees since the beginning of the year.
Even though most of these companies are profitable.
According to a report from financial services firm Jefferies, “the job cuts are the result of over-hiring during the pandemic and slower-than-expected growth prospects”.
With interest rates and inflation still high, and global economic uncertainty, consumers are holding back on spending.
As a result, businesses “will need to reduce headcount to restore operational efficiencies to match current demand trends,” Jefferies analysts said.
As interest rates rose, capital became more expensive and businesses began to curb labor costs.
A Bank of America Global Research report said, “Employment surges were partially driven by cheap capital, especially for start-ups.
Here are some prominent global tech companies that cut headcount despite making lots of money.
microsoft
microsoft Posted $16.4 billion net income The quarter ended December 31st was down 8% from a year ago. The company’s cloud business led the performance, with Microsoft Cloud revenue reaching $27.1 billion, up 22% year-over-year.
The company also achieved “record results” in its fiscal year 2022, which ended June 30. Despite a “dynamic environment,” CEO Satya Nadella is a tech giant annual report.
“We reported revenue of $198 billion and operating profit of $83 billion, and Microsoft Cloud annual revenue exceeded $100 billion for the first time,” he said in FY2022. report.
Nonetheless, Microsoft announced in January that it would lay off 10,000 employees.
Alphabet, Google’s parent company
Parent of Google alphabet It announced in January that it would cut 12,000 jobs.
The company missed earnings and revenue in the fourth quarter, but revenue increased 1% year-over-year in the December quarter.
CFO Ruth Porat said on the earnings call that Alphabet added 3,455 people during the quarter, mostly in technical positions.
She also told CNBC’s Deirdre Bosa that the company has significantly slowed the pace of hiring to ensure profitable growth in the long term.
“Over the past two years, we’ve had a period of dramatic growth. To accommodate that growth and to facilitate it, we’ve adopted economic realities that differ from the economic realities we’re facing now. CEO Sundar Pichai said in a memo to staff.
Amazon
SAP
Germany’s SAP said it fully achieved its full-year 2022 guidance, with cloud revenue growing 24% year-over-year. The enterprise software company also returned to his 2% positive operating profit growth.
However, SAP announced in January that it will cut up to 3,000 jobs as leadership aims to lead the company toward double-digit profit growth in 2023.
sea group
Singapore-based tech giant Sea Group reports Fourth quarter 2022 net income of $422.8 million, the company’s first quarterly earnings since its inception in 2019.
Days later, Sea’s e-commerce arm, Shopee’s Indonesian unit, announced another round of layoffs, affecting fewer than 500 permanent and contract workers. media coverage.
The company last year reportedly We have already laid off more than 7,000 people. That’s about 10% of our workforce.
Other Asian tech companies have not been spared either.
Indonesia’s GoTo Group, Singapore’s sea groupcarousel, foodpanda, korean neighbor and Kakao are among the companies that have cut staff in recent months.
Dell
Co-COO Jeff Clark said the job cuts were made to “preempt the impact of the recession.” Note to employees.
Although earnings improved in FY2023, Dell operating profit down 26% $1.18 billion in the fourth quarter of fiscal 2023 as demand for PCs and laptops slowed globally.
apple
apple Hiring slower than Google, Amazon, Microsoft and Meta, it has avoided mass layoffs so far.
But iPhone makers are also seen tightening their belts.
company Some employees’ bonuses reportedly delayed Limited recruitment in March. Apple said it laid off its contract workers in August. bloomberg report.
iphone maker disappointing Earnings, profit and sales for several business units for the first quarter of fiscal year 2023, which ended December 31 last year.
Chief Executive Tim Cook blamed the strong dollar, production disruptions in China and macro headwinds.
This list is not exhaustive.