NOVEMBER 20229Tech giants lay off workersThe economic meltdown has reached Big Tech, and Satya Nadella-run Microsoft has become the first tech giant to lay off employees as part of 'realignment'. The layoffs at Microsoft reportedly affect nearly one percent of its 1,80,000-strong workforce across its offices and product divisions."Today we had a small number of role eliminations. Like all companies, we evaluate our business priorities on a regular basis, and make structural adjustments accordingly", Microsoft told Bloomberg. The firm added, `We will continue to invest in our business and grow headcount overall in the year ahead'. Microsoft has also slowed hiring in the Windows, Teams and Office groups.Along with Microsoft, Google has slowed down its pace of hiring for the rest of the year. Alphabet and Google CEO Sundar Pichai has told employees that the company will be slowing down hiring for the rest of the year as global macro-economic conditions continue to hit across industries.Netflix Inc. said last month it's laying off about 150 workers after reporting an unexpected subscriber loss; the streaming giant's shares have tumbled 71 percent since mid-November.Cloud major Oracle recently considered laying off thousands of workers to save up to $1 billion in cost-cutting measures, the media reported. Twitter has also cut 30 percent of its recruiting team, while Elon Musk-run Tesla has laid off hundreds of employees. Other tech companies that have slowed hiring include Nvidia, Snap, Uber, Spotify, Intel and Salesforce.Anticipated reasonsAfter many prosperous years of spending money without much worry about limits on recruiting employees, getting real estate in dreamy locations, enhancing conditions and lavish parties, tech giants are suddenly slammed on the brakes and quickly recalculated their route.High-tech companies in the United States were quick to respond and fired about 20,000 workers in a very short time. Giant companies such as Robinhood and Coinbase, which are on the seam between high-tech and the capital market, fired thousands in one day. Giant companies such as Meta and Intel, whose stability is not feared, have also announced a freeze on recruitment.With the value of bitcoin, ethereum and other famous currencies falling sharply, startups in the risky cryptocurrency space are at the fore of layoffs. The illustrations of a rough new business climate are against the backdrop of a prolonged economic slowdown, grinding war in Europe and increasing interest rates & inflation.Any slowdown in hiring requires to be framed within the context of tech's meteoric rise, says Stephen Levy, director and senior economist at CCSCE. "Does the world want more of the goods and services that tech produces, and is that a growth sector over time?" Levy added. `The answer is yes'.Therefore, laying off workers proves that the fast-growing industry is also not immune to the global economic slowdown. The malaise damages employee morale, affects the industry's ability to attract talent and has wide-ranging implications for economic growth and innovation. With the value of bitcoin, ethereum and other famous currencies falling sharply, startups in the risky cryptocurrency space are at the fore of layoffs
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