Attention Economy


Friday, January 20, 2023

Tech Layoffs Gather Steam

Microsoft layoffs suggest broader pain to come for the economy
https://www.washingtonpost.com/technology/2023/01/18/microsoft-layoffs-tech-industry/

The empty threat of a white-collar recession
https://www.vox.com/the-goods/2023/1/19/23561276/tech-layoffs-finance-microsoft-amazon-goldman-white-collar-recession
“For tech and finance in particular, many of the layoffs we’re seeing are coming from companies that were trying to ride a shift from the pandemic. You have tech companies that overhired during the pandemic because they misread pandemic-era shifts as long-term structural change,” said Daniel Zhao, lead economist at Glassdoor. “You have the Pelotons of the world who maybe didn’t think that people would go back to gyms in person as opposed to working out from home.”
Some of the layoffs are renormalization of the economy as we’re unwinding the effects of the pandemic, or companies downscaling after getting out a little over their skis in terms of headcount.

Google to Cut 12,000 Jobs in 6% Slash to Global Workforce
https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2023-01-20/google-cutting-12-000-jobs-in-6-slash-to-global-workforce
 
Microsoft, Amazon Set to Erase 28,000 Jobs as Tech Slump Deepens
https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2023-01-18/microsoft-to-eliminate-10-000-jobs-or-5-of-workforce-as-tech-slump-deepens