Since the beginning of January 2024, many corporations have announced their intent to lay off hundreds of their employees. In some cases, these mass layoffs have resulted in companies letting go of a large percentage of their workforce. Unfortunately, for workers, these employers state that they have various reasons why they must lay off so many.
Economic conditions or business restructurings are often to blame for mass layoffs. Shifting market dynamics and worldwide trends can also result in companies letting a certain percentage of their employees go.
Google, one of the biggest companies in the world, announced that they would begin to lay off employees from various departments beginning on January 10, 2024. Just last year alone, the company also cut 12,000 jobs. They explained they’re reworking many aspects of their business.
Sundar Pichai, Google’s CEO, also hinted that more layoffs would likely occur later on in 2024. While everyone from employees in ad sales to workers in core engineering were cut, Google hasn’t necessarily pinpointed why these cuts are necessary. They’ve simply explained they’re looking to invest in major priorities, so layoffs must occur.
Buzzfeed
Buzzfeed has been in the news for months now, thanks to their job cuts. In 2023, they shocked many in the media when they closed Buzzfeed News, their Pulitzer Prize-winning news department.
Since this, about 180 employees have been let go from the company as they work to iron out financial challenges. The restructuring of many departments and their entire workforce has led to these layoffs in about every department.
TikTok
TikTok, one of the fastest-growing social media platforms ever, announced their decision to lay off 60 employees in January 2024. Though the platform remains as popular as ever, the company itself explained these job cuts were the result of organizational restructuring.
Most of these layoffs were relegated to the sales and advertising departments at TikTok. Tech companies, and particularly social media companies, often must find a balance in a quickly changing marketing landscape. These changes can sometimes lead to job cuts, as we see here.
Lyft
Lyft is going through a major restructuring plan in an attempt to increase profitability. As a result, the ridesharing company announced its intent to lay off about 1,072 workers. This is about 26% of its entire workforce.
Lyft also cut 250 job openings it previously had as it works to continue to restructure. According to the company, these cuts will allow them to focus on Lyft’s core services.
Wayfair
Just three weeks into January 2024, Wayfair said it would cut about 13% of its entire global workforce. The company explained this would lead to about 1,650 layoffs.
According to Niraj Shah, the online retailer’s CEO and co-founder, this move will help the entire company cut costs while they focus on their core priorities. Already, it is projected that Wayfair will save over $280 million each year as a result of these job cuts.
eBay
The tech industry continues to evolve — and companies like eBay continue to do their best to adapt to these changes. After facing a broad slowdown in overall business, eBay announced it would lay off about 1,000 employees, which is 9% of its entire workforce.
Jamie Iannone, Ebay’s CEO, explained that staff sizes grew faster than the business itself did. As a result, these job cuts needed to happen to slash expenses.
BlackRock
It isn’t just retailers and tech companies laying off workers this year. BlackRock, the largest asset manager in the world, announced that it would lay off 3% of its workforce. About 600 employees will be let go.
Recently, companies in the financial industry have cut jobs as they try to adapt to changing market conditions. Economic worries also often lead these types of corporations to lay off a portion of their staff.
Gap
Gap has long struggled to continue to bring in customers and increase revenue for a variety of reasons. Many customers now enjoy online shopping, whereas before they were more comfortable heading to a Gap store and browsing items in person.
As a result of this changing trend, Gap announced in late 2023 that they planned to lay off 1,800 workers. However, their layoffs differ from other companies, in that most of the employees who were let go were corporate layoffs. Many were from Gap headquarters.
Macy’s
Similar to Gap, Macy’s has also continued to struggle in the current changing retail world. As the department store chain works to change its strategy, it announced it would also lay off about 2,350 employees.
Macy’s says these job cuts will help the company continue to adapt to the changing trends in the retail environment — an environment that continues to be very competitive.
Tyson Foods
Since 2023, Tyson Foods has made many moves in an effort to improve its underperforming chicken business. Tyson Foods — the largest U.S. meat company by sales — cut more than 4,200 jobs in 2023. This is the most layoffs the company has ever done in a decade.
In 2024, Tyson Foods announced it would continue to lay off many more. This led to about 10% of Tyson Food corporate jobs being cut, and 15% of the company’s senior leadership roles being let go.
Walmart
In 2023, Walmart forecasted a challenging year ahead for them. This led to the announcement that more than 2,000 warehouse employees would be laid off as they restructured their business. Walmart warehouses then decided to scale back and even cut whole shifts.
These workers all worked at five different Walmart warehouses that dealt with online orders. No other job was affected. As a result, the company said they would work to assist those who had their jobs cut and would allow them to possibly explore other positions at different locations.
Vice Will Stop Publishing on its Website, Layoff Hundreds
Vice Media, the global digital media and broadcasting company, is undergoing significant transformations, as revealed in a memo from CEO Bruce Dixon. The company is set to implement layoffs affecting several hundred employees and will discontinue the publication of new content on its website, Vice.com.
This strategic shift is a substantial decision and the affected individuals will receive notifications regarding the forthcoming steps early next week. Vice Media is transitioning to a “studio model,” signifying a fundamental change in its approach to content creation. The key aspects of Vice Media’s current situation include the planned layoffs impacting its workforce, the cessation of new content on Vice.com, and the shift towards a studio model for content production.
Rivian Reports $5.4 Billion Loss and 10% Reduction in Salaried Employees
Rivian, the electric vehicle manufacturer, is implementing a 10% reduction in its salaried and a limited number of hourly employees to curb losses. During a conference call discussing Q4 2023 and full-year performance, CEO RJ Scaringe highlighted the move as part of Rivian’s focus on cost efficiencies.
Approximately 1,700 out of the current 16,700 employees may be affected by these layoffs, marking the third round since mid-2022. Despite increased sales and production, Rivian reported a $5.4 billion loss in 2023, emphasizing the challenges posed by high interest rates and geopolitical uncertainty. Scaringe stressed the necessity of purposeful changes for Rivian’s future stability.
The Body Shop to Cut 300 Head Office Jobs and Close Half of Stores
The Body Shop, a prominent ethical beauty retailer, is undergoing significant challenges, including job cuts and store closures. The company plans to cut 300 jobs at its head office and might close nearly half of its 198 stores in the UK as part of a broader restructuring effort for financial viability.
Seven stores have already shut down, and administrators state that the current store portfolio mix is unsustainable. The focus will shift to the brand’s products, online sales, and wholesale strategies to achieve financial stability. Employees affected by these changes will apply for redundancy payments through the government-backed service. The situation has raised concerns, particularly for long-term staff members.
Forvia to Cut 10,000 Jobs to “Stay Competitive”
Forvia, a stalwart in the automotive industry, is making a bold move by cutting 10,000 jobs to stay competitive in the electric vehicle (EV) revolution. The widespread impact of the EV transition requires companies to rethink manufacturing, supply chains, R&D, and marketing strategies.
Despite the difficulty of reducing the workforce, it’s a necessary step for companies like Forvia to adapt and thrive in the rapidly growing EV market. As Forvia undergoes this transformation, there’s a crucial need to invest in retraining and supporting affected employees. By doing so, the company can contribute to a cleaner and more sustainable future in the burgeoning EV sector.
Continental AG Plants to Layoff 7,150 Employees Worldwide by 2025
Continental AG, a German multinational automotive parts manufacturing company, is undergoing significant layoffs as part of a restructuring initiative. The company plans to cut approximately 7,150 jobs worldwide by 2025, affecting various roles and functions.
Specifically, 1,750 jobs in research and development will be eliminated, and the Smart Mobility business area will be dissolved, integrated into other automotive units. While the exact number of layoffs in Germany is yet to be confirmed, expectations point to over 1,000 job cuts across 30 different locations. This move reflects Continental’s strategic efforts to streamline its operations and adapt to evolving industry dynamics.
Cisco Plans to Lay Off 4,250 People After 6% Year-Over-Year Decline
Cisco Systems has unveiled plans to reduce its global workforce by 5%, equating to about 4,250 jobs, as part of a broader restructuring strategy amidst ongoing challenges and cost pressures in the tech industry. The decision follows a market downturn that occurred two years ago. The announcement led to a 9% decline in Cisco’s stock during extended trading.
Despite the layoffs, Cisco reported robust fiscal second-quarter results, surpassing expectations with adjusted earnings per share at 87 cents (compared to the anticipated 84 cents) and revenue reaching $12.79 billion (surpassing the expected $12.71 billion). Despite a 6% year-over-year decline in revenue and decreased net income, Cisco is actively finalizing its $28 billion acquisition of monitoring and security software maker Splunk, anticipating closure in the first or early second quarter of the current year.
