Microsoft is slashing thousands of workers, as a wave of layoffs continues into 2023. Here's the full list of major US companies making cuts.
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- Microsoft employees are the latest to be hit by a wave of layoffs at major US tech and finance companies.
- The companies are cutting thousands of employees in total.
- See the full list of layoffs so far in 2023.
A wave of layoffs that hit dozens of US companies toward the end of 2022 shows no sign of slowing down into 2023.
Microsoft is the latest major corporation to slash thousands of workers. The tech giant announced cuts on Jan. 18, part of a cost-realignment effort expected to impact 10,000 employees, or less than 5% of the company's global workforce, according to a memo sent to Microsoft employees from CEO Satya Nadella.
However, Microsoft is not the first company to make significant cuts in the new year: tech companies, including Amazon and Salesforce, and finance behemoths, like Goldman Sachs, announced massive layoffs in the first weeks of 2023 amid a continued economic downturn and stagnating sales.
The downsizing followed significant reductions at companies including Twitter and Meta late last year.
The layoffs have primarily affected the tech sector, which is now hemorrhaging employees at a faster rate than at any point during the pandemic, the Wall Street Journal reported. According to data cited by the Journal from Layoffs.fyi, a site tracking layoffs since the start of the pandemic, tech companies slashed more than 150,000 in 2022 alone — compared to 80,000 in 2020 and 15,000 in 2021.
Here are the notable examples so far in 2023:
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Microsoft announced on January 18 that it planned to reduce its workforce by 10,000 jobs by the end of the third quarter of this year.
CEO Satya Nadella attributed the layoffs to customers cutting back in anticipation of a recession.
However, Nadella also told workers that the company still plans to grow in some areas, despite the firings, writing that the company will "continue to hire in key strategic areas."
Microsoft's layoff announcement comes as the tech giant is reportedly in talks to invest $10 billion in OpenAI, which created the AI chatbot ChatGPT.
Crypto.com
Crypto.com announced on January 13 that it would let go of a fifth of its workforce amid a sagging crypto market and fallout from FTX's collapse.
This is the second major round of firings for Crypto.com, which also had layoffs in July.
"The reductions we made last July positioned us to weather the macro economic downturn, but it did not account for the recent collapse of FTX, which significantly damaged trust in the industry. It's for this reason, as we continue to focus on prudent financial management, we made the difficult but necessary decision to make additional reductions in order to position the company for long-term success," CEO Kris Marszalek wrote in a memo to employees.
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BlackRock is cutting up to 500 roles in its first round of firings since 2019.
Staff members were notified on January 11 about whether they were laid off.
"Taking a targeted and disciplined approach to how we shape our teams, we will adapt our workforce to align even more closely with our strategic priorities and create opportunities for the immense talent inside the firm to develop and prosper," CEO Larry Fink and President Rob Kapito wrote in a memo to employees.
Photo by Michael M. Santiago/Getty Images
Goldman Sachs began laying off employees on Jan. 11, with cuts expected to impact an estimated 6.5% of the company's global workforce — or roughly 3,200 staffers — a source told Insider.
The company previously slashed roles on its media and tech teams in September 2022, and it was expected to issue further reductions in the first half of January.
The cost-cutting efforts from the investment banking giant mirror reductions from competitors including Morgan Stanley and Citi, which also laid off employees in 2022.
"We continue to see headwinds on our expense lines, particularly in the near term," Goldman Sachs CEO David Solomon said at a conference in December. "We've set in motion certain expense mitigation plans, but it will take some time to realize the benefits. Ultimately, we will remain nimble and we will size the firm to reflect the opportunity set."
BNY Mellon
BNY Mellon is planning to cut approximately 3% of its workforce, or 1,500 jobs, according to the Wall Street Journal, which cited people familiar with the matter.
The cuts will be primarily aimed at talent management roles, according to the report. BNY Mellon will reportedly plan to invest more in junior staff.
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Verily, which is Alphabet's healthcare unit, is laying off more than 200 employees, according to an email seen by the Wall Street Journal.
The Journal reports that the company will also scale down the number of projects it works on in an effort to cut costs.
"We are making changes that refine our strategy, prioritize our product portfolio and simplify our operating model," Verily's CEO, Stephen Gillet, wrote in the email, according to the Journal.
This is the first significant layoff done by Google's parent company, which had so far avoided the massive waves of job cuts done by other big tech giants like Amazon and Meta.
Karen Bleier/AFP/Getty Images
DirecTV employees were told in the first week of January that the company would lay off several hundred workers in management roles.
The satellite TV business has faced slowing revenues as more people choose to cut the cord and pay for streaming services over cable TV.
"The entire pay-TV industry is impacted by the secular decline and the increasing rates to secure and distribute programming. We're adjusting our operations costs to align with these changes and will continue to invest in new entertainment products and service enhancements," a spokesperson for DirecTV told Insider.
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Coinbase announced on Tuesday, Jan. 10, that would lay off another 20% of its staff.
The cuts came after the crypto company laid off over 1,000 employees in July.
In a memo to employees, CEO Brian Armstrong said, "in hindsight, we could have cut further at that time," referencing the layoffs in July.
Armstrong partially attributed the company's weakness to the "fallout from unscrupulous actors in the industry," likely referencing the alleged fraud that took place at FTX late last year under then-CEO Sam Bankman-Fried. Armstrong predicted "there could still be further contagion" from FTX in the crypto markets but assured remaining employees that Coinbase is well capitalized.
Amazon
Amazon is in the midst of the most significant round of layoffs in the company's history.
In a memo to employees, CEO Andy Jassy said the company would cut more than 18,000 workers in total — far more than what was initially expected based on reporting by the New York Times.
Jassy cited "the uncertain economy" and rapid hiring as reasons for the layoffs.
While most of Amazon's 1.5 million staff have warehouse jobs, the layoffs are concentrated in Amazon's corporate groups.
Amazon's layoffs began late last year, though the Wall Street Journal reports cuts will continue through the first few weeks of 2023.
Amazon's 18,000 jobs cuts are the largest of any major tech company amid the wave of recent layoffs.
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Salesforce co-CEO Marc Benioff announced on Jan. 4 that the software company plans to layoff 10% of its workforce — an estimated 7,000 employees — and close select offices as part of a restructuring and cost-cutting plan.
"The environment remains challenging and our customers are taking a more measured approach to their purchasing decisions," Benioff wrote in an email to staff. "With this in mind, we've made the very difficult decision to reduce our workforce by about 10 percent, mostly over the coming weeks."
He continued: "As our revenue accelerated through the pandemic, we hired too many people leading into this economic downturn we're now facing, and I take responsibility for that."
Lars Ronbog/Getty Images for Copenhagen Fashion Summit
Everlane is slashing 17% of its 175-person corporate workforce, and 3% of its retail staff.
"We know there will be some bumpiness over the next few weeks as we navigate a lot of change at once. We ask for your patience as we do right by our departing team members," CEO Andrea O'Donnell wrote to employees, according to an internal memo seen by Insider.
In a statement to Insider, a company spokesperson said the decision was intended to "improve profitability in 2023 and continue our efforts to help leave the fashion industry cleaner than we found it."
The e-commerce clothing company previously laid off nearly 300 workers, mostly in retail in March 2020 amid the outbreak of the Covid-19 pandemic.
AP Photo/Mark Lennihan
Vimeo CEO Anjali Sud told employees on Jan. 4 that the company would layoff 11% of its staff, the video platform's second major round of layoffs in less than a year, after cutting 6% of employees in July
"This was a very hard decision that impacts each of us deeply," Sud wrote in an email to staff. "It is also the right thing to do to enable Vimeo to be a more focused and successful company, operating with the necessary discipline in an uncertain economic environment."
A spokesperson told Insider reduction is intended to assist with ongoing economic concerns and improve the company's balance sheet.
Compass
Compass CEO Robert Reffkin told staffers on Jan. 5 it would conduct more layoffs, following two previous rounds in the past eight months, as the brokerage continues to struggle with significant financial losses.
"We've been focused over the last year on controlling our costs," Reffkin wrote in an email to employees. "As part of that work, today we reduced the size of some of our employee teams. While decisions like these are always hard, they are prudent and allow us to continue to build a long-term, successful business for all of you."
While the size of the layoffs was not immediately disclosed, the brokerage let go of 450 corporate employees in June 2022, followed by an additional 750 people from its technology team in October 2022.
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Stitch Fix announced on Jan. 5 that it plans to slash 20% of its salaried workforce, the Wall Street Journal reported.
The cuts come in tandem with the announcement that CEO Elizabeth Spaulding is stepping down, after less than 18 months at the helm of the struggling retail company.
"First as president and then as CEO, it has been a privilege to lead in an unprecedented time, and to chart the course for the future with the Stitch Fix team," Spaulding said in a statement. "It is now time for a new leader to help support the next phase."
Stitch Fix founder Katrina Lake — who formerly served as chief executive and sits on the board of directors — will become interim CEO, the company said in a press release.
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