By Martine Paris
(Bloomberg) — With recession fears growing — and inflation, the war in Ukraine and the ongoing pandemic taking their toll — many technology companies are rethinking their hiring needs, with some imposing hiring freezes, withdrawing offers or even initiating layoffs.
Here’s a look at the dozens of companies that are pulling out.
Alphabet Inc., Google’s parent company, is slowing its recruiting efforts. According to an internal memo, CEO Sundar Pichai told employees that although the company hired 10,000 new Googlers in the second quarter, it would slow the hiring pace for the rest of the year and prioritize engineering and technical talent. “Like all companies, we are not immune to economic headwinds,” he said. The search engine giant employed nearly 164,000 people at the end of March.
Amazon.com Inc. said in April that the company was overstaffed and had to cut staff after ramping up during the pandemic. “As the variant subsided in the second half of the quarter and employees returned from furlough, we quickly moved from understaffing to overstaffing, resulting in lower productivity,” said Chief Financial Officer Brian Olsavsky.
Amazon is subleasing some warehouse space and has paused construction of facilities for office workers. The company says it needs more time to figure out how much space employees will need for hybrid work. The company employed 1.6 million people in March, making it the largest employer in the tech world.
Apple Inc. plans to hire fewer people and spend less money in some departments next year to prepare for a possible economic downturn, people familiar with the matter said. But that’s not a companywide strategy, and the iPhone maker is sticking to its tight product release schedule. In September, when its last fiscal year ended, Apple employed 154,000 people.
Carvana Co., an online used-car retailer, laid off 2,500 employees in May, about 12 percent of its workforce. In an unusual move, the leadership team will forgo salaries for the rest of the year to pay severance to those laid off, according to a filing with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. The company employed more than 21,000 full- and part-time workers at the end of last year.
Coinbase Global Inc., a cryptocurrency exchange, told employees in June that it would cut 18% of its staff to prepare for an economic downturn. It also withdrew job offers. “We appear to be entering a recession after an economic boom that lasted more than 10 years,” CEO Brian Armstrong said in a blog post. “While it is difficult to predict the economy or the markets, we always plan for the worst so that we can operate the business in any environment,” he said. The company ended the quarter with about 5,000 employees.
Compass Inc., a real estate brokerage platform, is cutting 450 jobs, or about 10% of its workforce, according to a filing last month. The company employed nearly 5,000 people at the end of 2021.
Gemini Trust Co., a cryptocurrency exchange founded by Bitcoin billionaires Cameron and Tyler Winklevoss, announced 10% staff cuts in June.
GoPuff, a food delivery app, is laying off 10% of its workforce and closing dozens of warehouses. The cuts will affect about 1,500 employees – a mix of corporate and warehouse workers.
Lyft has restricted hiring, even as its competitor Uber claims to be “recession-resistant.” Photo: David Paul Morris/Bloomberg
Lyft Inc., the ride-hailing platform, told employees in May that it would limit hiring after its stock fell sharply. The company employed about 4,500 people in 2021. Lyft’s archrival Uber Technologies Inc. was more optimistic. CEO Dara Khosrowshahi told Bloomberg in June that his company was “recession-resistant” and had no plans for layoffs.
Meta Platforms Inc., Facebook’s parent company, has cut engineering hiring plans by at least 30 percent. CEO Mark Zuckerberg told employees he was expecting one of the worst economic downturns in recent history. The company employed more than 77,800 people at the end of March.
Microsoft Corp. told employees in May that it would slow hiring in Windows, Office and Teams as it prepared for economic volatility. The company employed 181,000 people in 2021. Recently, the software maker cut some jobs — less than 1% of its total — as part of a restructuring.
Streaming giant Netflix Inc. has gone through several waves of layoffs with high media attention since reporting the loss of 200,000 subscribers in the first quarter. In April, the company began scaling back some marketing initiatives and laid off 150 employees in May and 300 in June. In the last quarter, the company reported severance costs of $70 million and lost another 970,000 subscribers. Netflix employed 11,300 people in 2021.
Niantic Inc., the maker of the video game Pokémon Go, laid off 8 percent of its team in June. This was an attempt to streamline operations and prepare the company for economic storms, CEO John Hanke told employees in an email. Niantic employed around 800 people at the end of last year.
Peloton Interactive Inc. announced plans to cut about 2,800 jobs worldwide, about 20% of the company’s workforce, in a surprise restructuring in February. CEO John Foley and several members of the executive team resigned. In 2021, the company said it employed nearly 9,000 people.
Redfin Corp., another real estate brokerage, laid off 8 percent of its staff in June. “We don’t have enough work for our agents and support staff,” CEO Glenn Kelman wrote in a blog post. He said demand in May was 17 percent below expectations and he expects the company to grow more slowly during a downturn in the housing market. The company employed about 6,500 people at the end of last year.
Online broker Robinhood Markets Inc. laid off 9 percent of its workforce in April. At the end of last year, the company employed around 3,800 people and has accumulated losses of over two billion dollars since its IPO last July.
Rivian Automotive Inc. plans to cut hundreds of non-production jobs and teams with dual functions. The Southern California electric vehicle maker, which employs more than 14,000 people, could cut about 5% overall. In a memo to employees, CEO RJ Scaringe said: “We will always focus on growth. However, Rivian is not immune to the current economic circumstances and we must ensure that we can grow sustainably.”
Rivian CEO RJ Scaringe has cut jobs and said the company is “not immune to the current economic situation.” Photo: Jamie Kelter Davis/Bloomberg
Salesforce Inc., the cloud computing platform, has slowed hiring and cut travel expenses, according to a leaked memo reported by Insider in May.
Spotify Technology SA, the audio service, is reducing headcount growth by about 25 percent to offset macroeconomic factors, CEO Daniel Ek said in a note to employees in June. The company employs more than 6,500 people, according to its website.
Stitch Fix, an online personalized styling service, announced in June that it would cut 15 percent of its salaried positions – about four percent of its workforce. The majority of the employees will be in non-technical corporate jobs and senior styling positions as the company grapples with higher expenses and weaker demand. The company employs 8,900 people, according to its website.
Tesla Inc., the electric car maker, laid off 200 Autopilot workers in June and closed a factory in San Mateo, California. CEO Elon Musk had previously said layoffs were necessary in an increasingly uncertain economic environment. In an interview with Bloomberg, he said about 10% of employees would lose their jobs in the next three months, although the total number of employees could be higher in a year. The company employed 100,000 people worldwide at the end of last year.
Twitter Inc. imposed a hiring freeze in May and began withdrawing job offers amid uncertainty over Elon Musk’s takeover of the company, according to an internal memo seen by Bloomberg. The company employed 7,500 people in 2021.
Unity Software Inc., a video game engine maker, surprised its employees in June by laying off 200 of its 5,900 employees, or four percent of its workforce. The CEO had assured employees that there would be no layoffs, Kotaku reports.
Online furniture retailer Wayfair Inc. imposed a 90-day hiring freeze in May. In March, the company employed 18,000 people.
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