Hundreds of thousands have lost jobs across sectors in 2023 as technology behemoths raced to cut costs

In 2023, the push by technology giants to reduce costs has resulted in a significant number of job losses across various sectors, affecting hundreds of thousands of individuals. The Layoffs.fyi platform has been tracking these job cuts, revealing a steady decline in numbers over the months. In January, the technology sector saw around 90,000 job cuts, which decreased to 39,471 in February, 37,662 in March, 19,807 in April, and 11,491 as of May.

According to Layoffs.fyi, approximately 198,000 employees have been laid off by 695 tech companies thus far in 2023. This marks a 19 percent increase compared to the previous year when over 161,000 employees were let go by more than 1,000 tech companies.

Prominent technology companies like Amazon, Microsoft, and Google played a significant role in the high number of job cuts in January 2023, affecting nearly 100,000 tech employees worldwide, as reported by Business Today. These companies, along with others, have cited reasons such as excessive hiring during the pandemic’s Work-From-Home era and uncertain global macroeconomic conditions for the mass layoffs.

Meta, owned by Mark Zuckerberg, implemented substantial job cuts across Facebook, WhatsApp, Instagram, and Reality Labs to improve efficiency. Meta had a hiring freeze throughout the first quarter of 2023. Ernst & Young, one of the “Big Four” financial consulting firms, reduced its workforce in the United States by 3,000 employees in the previous month. Similarly, KPMG and Accenture announced layoffs of approximately 2 percent and 2.6 percent of their US and global workforce, respectively. McKinsey is expected to reduce around 3 percent of its workforce through restructuring in 2023.

In addition to the technology and consulting sectors, global telecom carrier Vodafone has disclosed plans to cut 11,000 jobs over the next three years. The company aims to streamline its headquarters and local markets to achieve a simpler operational structure.

Furthermore, Microsoft has made the decision to withhold salary increases for its salaried employees, including senior leaders, in the current year, which further contributes to the challenging employment landscape.