Tech sector sheds over 240K jobs in 2023
CALIFORNIA, UNITED STATES — The technology industry has faced major upheaval in 2023, with over 240,000 employees laid off globally, surpassing 154,336 layoffs across the tech sector in 2022.
Layoffs accelerated among industry giants like Amazon, Microsoft, Apple, and Google’s parent Alphabet, as well as smaller startups across sectors like crypto and fintech.
Data aggregation website Layoffs.fyi reported that 1,179 tech companies conducted layoffs impacting 261,847 jobs worldwide this year.
Reasons for the deep cuts include the cooling economy, overhiring during the pandemic, and increasing artificial intelligence (AI) automation.
Notable recent layoffs include cloud communications firm Twilio cutting 300 jobs in its third round this year and e-commerce giant eBay eliminating nearly 10% of its Israel workforce.
Professional networking leader LinkedIn announced 668 layoffs, its second this year, while programming platform Stack Overflow cut 28% of staff, citing AI disruption as a factor.
However, Harvard Business Review stated tech layoffs created opportunities for traditional firms to access top talent with skills in DevOps, automation, data management, and cybersecurity and privacy.
Aside from this, industry experts expected around 30 to 40% of jobs lost were transferred to outsourcing hubs in India.
