Joe Duran, Goldman Sachs’ head of personal finance management, gives his market outlook for 2023 and discusses the company’s “tough decision” to cut 3,200 jobs at Varney & Co.
Large companies in various sectors are laying off workers at a breathtaking pace, calling into question the state of the economy.
Recent announcements include Microsoft, which said on Wednesday that the company plans to cut 10,000 employees after Microsoft’s stock fell more than 20% over the past 12 months.
An even larger round of layoffs went into effect at Amazon this week after CEO Andy Jassy announced this month that around 18,000 workers would be laid off, mostly from the retail division and PXT (people experience and technology), which deals with human resources and more Affairs.
“Amazon has a history of weathering uncertain and difficult economies, and we will continue to do so,” Jassy said in a Jan. 4 blog post. “These changes will help us pursue our long-term opportunities with a stronger cost structure.”
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The trend of large-scale job cuts dates back several months, when Facebook parent company Meta said in November it would cut more than 11,000 employees and impose a hiring freeze in the first quarter of 2023.
“I want to take ownership of those decisions and how we got here,” said CEO Mark Zuckerberg. “I know this is difficult for everyone and I am especially sorry for those affected.”
Elsewhere in the tech sector, Google parent Alphabet has shed 15% of its workforce at its health sciences division Verily, equivalent to more than 200 jobs. CEO Stephen Gillett said in an email to employees last week that the downsizing will cause work on medical software Verily Value Suite and other early-stage products to be halted, the Wall Street Journal reported.
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A security guard stands guard at the Meta sign outside the headquarters of Facebook parent company Meta Platforms Inc. in Mountain View, California, on November 9, 2022. (Portal / Peter DaSilva / File / Portal Photos)
Additionally, earlier this month, Salesforce announced that the company would lay off 10% of its workforce as part of a plan to reduce operating expenses and improve operating margins. This percentage amounts to more than 7,000 workers.
In the cryptocurrency world, Coinbase announced last week that it intends to lay off 20% of its workforce, affecting approximately 950 employees. This week, the company announced that it would suspend all operations in Japan.
In addition, Twitter is shedding about half of its workforce after Elon Musk took over as CEO. Insider reported Wednesday that the social media company could cut another 50 employees in the near future.
Big banks were not immune. Goldman Sachs announced it was laying off 3,200 employees — the most since the 2008 financial crisis. Last month, Morgan Stanley said it would cut 2% of its workforce, and Bank of America said it was enforcing a partial hiring freeze.
Joe Duran, Goldman Sachs’ head of personal finance management, gives his market outlook for 2023 and discusses the company’s “tough decision” to cut 3,200 jobs at Varney & Co.
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In the media sector, the editor of the Washington Post told staff last month it would see single-digit percentage cuts, which the New York Times reported are expected in early 2023. CNN and BuzzFeed also announced layoffs in December, and last week it was reported that NBC News and MSNBC would also be making cuts.
Despite the layoffs, the White House tweeted a message Thursday saying there was cause for “optimism” about the economy. The post included an image of an “Economic To-Do List” that included “Creating Good Jobs” and “Maintaining a Strong Job Market.”
Julia Musto and Daniella Genovese from FOX Business contributed to this report.