There are more than 158 million people in the US workforce. These people work in fields ranging from IT and technology to media and production. In the second half of 2022, inflation peaked at the highest in the country, and to combat it, the Federal Reserve Bank raised interest rates seven times in a row in 2022 alone. The higher rates triggered a wave of layoffs. employees across the country, with more than 120 companies laying off tens of thousands of employees last year. The most significant layoffs occurred at Meta, which laid off 11,000 employees in November.
According to Forbes, we are now in the second half of 2023 and so far 93 companies have laid off employees. About 194,000 people across the country lost their jobs due to layoffs in the first half of 2023. According to Department of Labor data, the unemployment rate in the US was 3.7% as of May 2023. There is currently 6.1 Millions of people are unemployed in this country.
The Great American Layoff of 2023: A Timeline
The first half of 2023 saw a wave of mass layoffs hit many large companies across many different industries, forcing hundreds and thousands of employees out of work. Meta, Amazon and Twitter were the top three companies to lay off the largest number of employees in the first quarter of 2023 amid rising unemployment and fears of a coming recession.
Here are the major companies that have undergone significant downsizing so far:
JANUARY
- Amazon: Jeff Bezos owns Amazon, one of the world’s largest companies, conducted one of the largest layoffs of 2023, after laying off more than 10,000 employees in November. In 2023, the giant The e-commerce giant cut 18,000 employees starting January 18.
- Microsoft: The tech giant announced workforce cuts, affecting about 10,000 employees, less than 5% of its total workforce of 180,000 employees. The decision follows another round of layoffs made three months earlier.
- Alphabet, the parent company of Google, has reduced its global workforce by cutting about 12,000 jobs.
- Spotify: The world’s largest music streaming platform, Spotify, planned to reduce its workforce of about 10,000 people by about 6%.
FEBRUARY
- Dell Technologies: To cut costs, the laptop manufacturer has cut its workforce by about 6,650 employees.
- Boeing: The famous jet maker has cut about 2,000 jobs in the financial and human resources sectors. The company is also planning to hire 10,000 people for engineering and manufacturing jobs.
- Twitter: After Elon Musk took over and cut the social media company’s 7,500-person workforce in half, the blogging site went through another round of layoffs, forcing more than 200 employees to quit.
STEPS ARE
- Amazon: After laying off 18,000 employees, the e-com giant cut 9,000 positions, marking its second-biggest round of layoffs in just three months.
- Indeed: The job search platform has undergone a cut affecting about 2,200 employees.
- Warner Music Group: The company cut 275 positions in an effort to grow.
APRIL
- Walmart: The largest employer in the US has conducted layoffs of 5 of its factories, resulting in the layoff of more than 2,000 employees. Affected locations include facilities in Florida, New Jersey, Pennsylvania and Texas.
- Gap: The company cut 1,800 employees at the end of the month.
MAYBE
- LinkedIn: Of its 20,000 employees, the professional networking app has laid off more than 700 of them.
- Disney: The company has conducted one of its biggest layoffs of the year so far. So far, more than 6,500 people have lost their jobs.
- Meta: The tech giant has laid off about 6,000 employees, marking the company’s second-biggest layoff to date.
JUNE
- Spotify: The streaming giant has conducted a second round of layoffs, cutting 2% of its workforce, or about 200 employees.
- Ford: The automaker has laid off about 1,000 employees and is shifting focus to key areas that need addressing.
Why is this happening?
In 2022, inflation in the US peaked, the highest in 40 years. To curb soaring prices and the recession that first began after the COVID-19 pandemic, the US Federal Reserve Bank has begun raising interest rates. The bank raised rates seven times in a row by a large number of basis points last year. The Fed’s rate hike stoked fears that a recession is brewing. Amid economic uncertainty, soaring interest rates, the collapse of key banking institutions and an ongoing digital transformation, companies across the country have resorted to layoffs. employees as a cost reduction measure. And it hasn’t stopped since. The Federal Reserve has continued to raise interest rates consistently, posting their ninth consecutive increase as of May 2023. Furthermore, the pandemic has brought about many changes, including a dependence on the world. digital world. All of the above factors combined have largely contributed to these mass layoffs.
What’s next?
There are still uncertainties and challenges ahead for both employees and companies. Large corporations like Disney and Alphabet have announced their intention to make another round of layoffs later this year. As the Federal Reserve continues to raise interest rates and fears of a recession grow, it remains to be seen how businesses will navigate the evolving economic landscape. Another important thing to consider is the AI revolution. AI has taken center stage in the digital world with the emergence of powerful AI tools such as ChatGPT, Google Bard and Bing AI. As AI continues to evolve, there are concerns about its potential impact on the job market and future job opportunities to come.
Conclusion
Rising inflation, soaring interest rates, and an ongoing digital transformation have contributed to a wave of layoffs across various industries in the United States. Hundreds, thousands of people are losing their jobs every day. As the world continues to transform and change, it is important to explore new avenues for job and skills development. Against this backdrop, the ability to adapt to emerging technologies and seize new opportunities will become even more essential for individuals as well as organizations.
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Source: pagasa.edu.vn