Big tech lays off thousands of employees (includes video story)

Over 150,000 employees have been let go by major tech companies in the past six months. Amazon, Google, Meta, Spotify and others are among the industry giants that are laying off massive numbers of employees.

Microsoft is cutting 10,000 jobs, while Alphabet, Google’s parent company, is laying off 12,000 employees.

In an email to Amazon employees, CEO Andy Jassy wrote: “This year’s review has been more difficult given the uncertain economy and that we’ve hired rapidly over the last years… We plan to eliminate just over 18,000 roles.”

But, according to David Koslowsky, a finance professor at Florida International University, “The actual layoff numbers are small compared to the main effect. The main effect is that companies and organizations slow down hiring.”

During the pandemic, technology companies boomed, and Florida created the second-highest number of technology jobs. While people began working from home or spending more time online, tech companies saw growth in their business, which is now returning to normal levels.

“The Federal Reserve is trying to undo some of this overstimulation and pull the economy back to where it was before they injected all that money,” said Koslowsky.

Nationwide, these cuts are causing fear, however, Koslowsky advises people not to worry, “We are going to see a slowing of the economy but not a major impact.”

Associate Editor

Sofia Zuñiga is a Digital Journalism student, completing a minor in Social Media and E-Marketing Analytics, and a certificate in Queer Studies. Currently, she is an NBCU DEI fellow, with an interest in LGBTQ topics and social issues.