The technology industry has seen a surge of layoffs in February 2024, with major companies across the sector cutting jobs. The cuts bring total tech industry job losses to around 50,000 in 2024 so far, according to tracking site Layoffs.fyi. The mounting layoffs result from economic instability and shifting business priorities, forcing many tech giants to restructure operations.
These are some of the major
tech layoffs
in the month of February.
Cisco is laying off more than 4000 employees
Cisco
announced it will cut around 4,250 jobs, representing 5% of its workforce. The reductions come as Cisco aims to focus on high-growth business areas. Sources previously indicated
job cuts
were looking for the company that employed nearly 85,000 at the end of fiscal 2023.
Expedia is cutting 1500 jobs
Travel website Expedia is slashing around 1,500 jobs, mostly concentrated in its tech division. Expedia's CEO cited eliminating "tech debt" as the impetus for the reductions.
Sony lays off 900 employees at PlayStation, closes down its major studio
Sony
Interactive Entertainment announced one of the biggest rounds of cuts, eliminating 900 positions or around 8% of its global workforce. The gaming giant said studios worldwide would be impacted, including heavyweight developers Naughty Dog and Insomniac Games.
Amazon cuts 400 jobs at its medical unit
Amazon
has cut around 400 positions in its One Medical and Amazon Pharmacy divisions. A spokesperson said the layoffs aimed to "realign resources" and accelerate efforts to improve healthcare services.
Snap laid off over 500 employees
Snap, the parent company of
Snapchat
, has announced that it is laying off approximately 528 employees, which accounts for about 10% of its global workforce.
Snap
stated that this restructuring will help them focus on executing their top priorities and invest incrementally to support their growth over time.
Bumble breaks up with 350 staff
Dating app Bumble also made deep reductions, laying off approximately 350 employees globally, amounting to 30% of its staff. Bumble announced the cuts despite a revenue increase in its latest quarterly earnings.
Paramount cuts 850 jobs across its streaming and other divisions
Paramount
laid off around 800 employees, representing 3% of its workforce, in February 2024. The layoffs spanned Paramount's portfolio including film, TV networks, and streaming services. CEO Bob Bakish said the reductions aim to help Paramount restore earnings growth and achieve its long-term vision amid streaming losses and declining revenues.
EA is laying off 650 employees, cancels upcoming Star Wars game
EA
announced widespread layoffs this week, cutting over 650 jobs representing around 5% of its total workforce. The reductions are part of a major restructuring effort aimed at refocusing the video game giant. As part of the changes, EA is cancelling an in-development Star Wars FPS game at studio Respawn Entertainment.
Instacart cuts 7% of its workforce
Instacart laid off about 250 employees, around 7% of its global workforce, in February 2024. The company said the cuts aim to streamline operations and allow greater focus on key initiatives like advertising campaigns.
Grammarly cuts 23% of its team
Grammarly has let go of approximately 230 employees, which constitutes nearly 23% of its workforce. The CEO, Rahul Roy-Chowdhury, explained that the layoffs were necessitated by the growing significance of artificial intelligence and the company's emphasis on promoting AI-powered workplaces.
Firefox-parent laid off 5% of its staff
Mozilla, the company behind the Firefox browser, laid off around 60 employees in February 2024, representing about 5% of its workforce. Mozilla said the cuts aim to reduce investment in some products while focusing resources on higher potential areas like Firefox Mobile.
Tech layoffs in January 2024
These are some of the major job cuts that happened across the industry last month. Apart from this, the massive wave of layoffs has now seen more than 49,000 employees lose their jobs at over 180 companies, including giants and startups.
Tech giants Google, Microsoft, Amazon, Salesforce, and others announced thousands of job cuts in January alone. Notable layoffs include Google cutting hundreds of roles across divisions, Microsoft slashing 1,900 jobs mainly at Activision Blizzard, Amazon reducing headcounts in units like Audible and Prime Video, Xerox eliminating 3,000 positions, Unity Software letting go of 1,800 employees, Discord cutting 170 jobs, eBay shedding 1,000 roles, Flipkart laying off 1,000 amid restructuring, Swiggy firing 400 ahead of its IPO, Riot Games cutting 530 jobs, TikTok letting 60 go, and Salesforce adding 700 more cuts after reducing its workforce by 10% last year.