Amazon, Google & Goldman Sacs With Massive Layoffs In Q1 2023

Waves of Layoffs Sweeping United States

In Q1, the market is unpredictable. But big tech is ready, there is more downsizing on the way, with multiple companies around the spectrum -- led by technology firms -- preparing to furlough thousands of employees. Big names across the tech sector, including Meta, Lyft, HP, and Amazon, are already furloughing workers by the hundreds, and sometimes thousands. Huge chunks of the workforce at multiple tech companies are being slashed due to a weakened global economy.?

Another report by experts, who have been tracking the labor market for nearly three decades, said that the biggest spike is yet to come.?

Amazon Layoffs?

Amazon is furloughing 18,000 employees, the tech giant said on Wednesday, representing the only major job cuts by a technology company since the sector began actively shrinking last year. Amazon said Wednesday that it would eliminate more than 18,000 jobs, an even larger number than the electronics retailer originally said it would cut last year.

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The layoffs came days after Mark Zuckerberg, Facebook's chief executive at parent company Meta Platforms, said Nov. 9 that the company had decided to cut about 13% from the size of its team, and that it would be letting go over 11,000 employees. Meta has announced layoffs for around 11,000 employees over the last several months, and companies such as Intel have announced plans for major cuts over the course of the year. The layoffs are on par with cuts announced by other large companies during the closing months of 2022 and this January.?

Companies including Salesforce, Zendesk, and RingCentral also laid off hundreds of employees this month. In November, Amazon shared a tough decision to cut a series of positions in our Devices and Books businesses, as well as announced a voluntary reduction proposal to certain employees across our People, Experience, and Technology (PXT) organizations.?

Goldman Sachs?

The Goldman layoffs are likely to center on Goldman's investment banking unit, but they would also hit most major departments. Hundreds of additional layoffs are expected in Goldman's troubled consumer banking unit, which the firm said in October was downsizing, acknowledging that it has never made money. Goldman's troubled consumer banking unit. The layoffs are the latest in a series that has eliminated thousands of white-collar jobs, especially in tech and media.?

The firings came before the annual bonuses at Goldman Sachs, typically handed out in late January, are expected to drop by around 40%, according to Reuters. The cuts are consistent with those announced by other major firms in also last month of 2022 and this January. As mentioned above, Amazon and U.S.-based enterprise software manufacturer Salesforce have already announced large-scale workforce cuts for their respective businesses as early as the first week of January of this year.

Google Company Verily to cut 15% of WorkForce?

It’s the first known layoff to hit the Google parent company following a wave of industry layoffs and fears of a recession.?

Verily Life Sciences said on Wednesday that it would start the process of furloughing 15% of its workforce, becoming the first subsidiary of parent Alphabet Inc. to reduce jobs in an economy-wide slowdown. Verily Life Sciences, the health unit of Alphabet Inc., is furloughing more than 200 employees in a wide-ranging reorganization, the first significant personnel cuts to hit Alphabet Inc. after waves of job cuts at other tech companies.

Google's peers have been cutting jobs in recent times, responding to deteriorating economic conditions and declining internet ads.?

In the current economic climate, Alphabets early job cuts are impacting companies working on healthcare (Verily) and robotics (Intrinsic), and Xs moonshot factory is cutting costs as well. The cuts are coming at Intrinsic, which is Alphabets effort in industrial robotics, where Alphabets cutting 40 positions, or roughly 17% of Intrinsics work force, according to Wednesdays report from The Information. After we first published this story, The Information reported that Intrinsic, an Alphabet company focused on industrial robotics software, is cutting 40 employees, nearly 20% of its staff.?

After the holidays, there is more downsizing on the way, with multiple companies around the spectrum -- led by technology firms -- preparing to furlough thousands of employees. Big names across the tech sector, including Meta, Lyft, HP, and Amazon, are already furloughing workers by the hundreds, and sometimes thousands. Huge chunks of the workforce at multiple tech companies are being slashed due to a weakened global economy.?

Will AI Replace All these Layoffs in 2023?

In a recent report on the future of work, the World Economic Forum estimated AI would displace about 85 million jobs by 2025. The report predicted the potential for artificial intelligence to displace some 85 percent of jobs. A report from the World Economic Forum from 2020 predicted that robots and automation would eliminate 85 million jobs worldwide over the next five years.?

As technologies improve, the chances that machines will displace human workers will increase across various industries. AI and cutting-edge technologies are expected to make processes more intelligent, with machines becoming more humanized over the long term.?

Yet even as powerful new forms of automation boost productivity and enhance our lives, their use will displace some work activities humans currently do, a development that has caused a great deal of public anxiety.?

Finding a New Job or Career

If you are paying particular attention to recent layoffs at giants such as Amazon, Meta, Twitter, Goldman Sachs, Robinhood, and Coinbase. Across industries, whether investing behemoth Goldman Sachs or carmaker Ford or beverage brand Pepsico, multiple companies are cutting staff.?

This is a great time to learn more about yourself, and maybe even start your own business. Unnanu recommends, maybe becoming an independent recruiter. With every challenge comes opportunity, some will take it and run, and some will be left behind.