As the pandemic continues to wreak havoc on the global economy, many corporate companies are forced to make difficult decisions to stay afloat. This week, several major firms have announced plans to reduce their headcounts by cutting jobs and freezing hiring.
Tesla founder Elon Musk’s electric car company is one of them. In a move that will affect its 44 billion-dollar takeover of SolarCity, Tesla has laid off thousands of workers across its global operations since early 2020. Twitter is trying to soften the blow by reaching out to dozens of employees who were let go, asking them to come back. However, on November 18, Musk fired another 1,200 from the San Francisco headquarter. During Thanksgiving week, more Twitter employees from other countries were locked out of their accounts and given severance packages.
In the last quarter, Lyft’s revenue declined by more than 60 percent year-over-year due to the pandemic. As part of a restructuring plan, Lyft Inc. will be laying off 683 employees, roughly 13% of its workforce.
For the bank sector, Citigroup Inc. cut dozens of investment banking positions, while Morgan Stanley plans to start a global layoff in the upcoming month. Chime Financial Inc., an online banking firm, is laying off 160 (or 12%) employees. The cryptocurrency exchange Coinbase Global has announced plans to reduce its headcount by 60 jobs.
Opendoor Technologies Inc., a property-selling platform, is cutting 550 jobs. At the same time, U.S. shale gas producer Chesapeake Energy Corp has laid off 3 percent of its workforce, and memory chip maker Seagate Technology Holdings Plc announced plans to cut 8% of its global operations. It is estimated that 8% be around 3,000 jobs.
Even though the demand for technology products is still increasing, many tech companies are also not spared from the wave of layoffs. Intel Corp. plans to reduce $3 billion in expenses in 2023. On the other hand, Microsoft Corp. already laid off 1,000 employees during Thanksgiving week to streamline its sales organization.
Media giant Walt Disney Co. is also freezing hiring and cutting some positions, while streaming device maker Roku Inc. revealed it will reduce its headcount by 200 employees. Finally, networking and collaboration solutions company Cisco Systems Inc. said it will undertake restructuring with the potential of impacting 5 percent of its workforce.
Warner Brothers is taking further steps to cut their budget by $3 billion by shutting studios and many of their production sub-divisions. Back in August, the company already pushed for a major layoff at its HBO and HBO Max divisions, resulting in up to 650 job losses. Now in November, Warner is cutting another 125 positions from its studios.
HP Inc. and Apple Inc. have also revealed plans this week to cut jobs as part of cost-cutting measures. HP expects to reduce its headcount by up to 6,000 jobs by the end of fiscal 2025, while Apple will eliminate 190 positions from its autonomous vehicle project in California.
These announcements come when cryptocurrency markets are rocked by extreme volatility due to investors dumping risky assets and the economic slowdown caused by the pandemic.
These job cuts affect thousands of employees across the globe, who suddenly find themselves without livelihoods and facing an uncertain future. The layoffs also challenge governments in providing relief and support for those affected during these trying times.
It is a worrisome time for the global economy, with companies continuing to downsize to stay afloat. It remains a waiting game to see how this trend will shape the future of these firms and their employees.
