Athena Hallet
There has been a notable increase in job cuts so far in 2024. Let’s take a look into this alarming trend, highlighting 30 companies that have announced major layoffs, underscoring the challenging economy workers and industries are navigating.
Nike
Nike plans to reduce its workforce by 2% which will result in layoffs for 1,500 people. The company announced on Thursday that the decision to do this is part of the company’s larger restructuring effort. The sneaker company, based in Beaverton, Oregon, aims to reallocate its resources to focus on its growth areas, including running, women’s products, and the Jordan brand.
John Donahoe, the CEO of the company put emphasis on how important this strategy is for creating new growth for the company. Donahoe acknowledged the difficulty of the decision, stating that it is a painful reality that he does not take lightly. He also took responsibility for the company’s current underperformance and expressed accountability for himself and his leadership team.
Unilever
The parent company for name brands like Dove, Axe, and multiple ice cream brands, announced its plans to cut 7,500 jobs and separate its ice cream businesses. The company currently employs 128,000 people, and is implementing a “productivity program” aimed at reducing its workforce, primarily in office-based roles. The initiative is estimated to generate $867 million in savings over three years.
This move follows a previous round of layoffs in 2022, during which 1,500 employees were let go.
Paramount
Paramount Global has joined other large media companies in laying off up to 800 of their employees.
In a recent memo, Bob Bakish, Paramount Global’s CEO stated that these “adjustments” are aimed at positioning the company to “build momentum” and “execute strategic vision” for 2024.
Docusign
DocuSign announced its intentions to downsize its workforce by 6%, as an effort to restructure and improve its “financial and operational efficiency,” as stated in a release.
The online signature provider noted that the employees that will be affected the most will be those that work in the sales and marketing departments. Currently there are 7,336 employees, the layoffs are expected to impact approximately 440 jobs.
Cisco
Cisco announced its intentions to lessen its workforce by 5%, getting rid of approximately 4,250 jobs.
This caused Cisco’s shares to plummet by as much as 9% in after-hours trading.
American Airlines
American Airlines has officially declared its intentions to lay off employees from its customer support department, this effort is part of their plans to consolidate and create a more united team.
The layoffs will affect 335 employees in Phoenix and an additional 321 in Dallas-Fort Worth who work within the company’s AAdvantage Customer Service, Customer Relations, and Central Baggage Resolution groups.
Instacart
On Tuesday Instacart shared that it has plans to lay off approximately 250 employees, about 7% of the company, as part of a restructuring effort.
The company’s downsizing is said to affect mostly middle management roles.
Estee Lauder
On Monday, Estee Lauder shared its decision to reduce its global workforce by up to 5% as part of a restructuring initiative.
The company boasts about 62,000 employees all over the world, the layoffs are said to impact approximately 3,000 positions.
Morgan Stanley
The investment banking powerhouse, Morgan Stanley, is said to reduce its workforce in the wealth management unit by hundreds of employees, which was indicated by a source that is familiar with the matter.
This move is in line with a string of layoffs across many Wall Street firms. The cuts are anticipated to affect less than 1% of the division’s employees.
Snapchat
The largely known social media company Snapchat has announced its intentions to reduce its employees by 10% globally, which equals about 500 employees.
A spokesperson for Snap informed CNBC that the company is reorganizing its team as an broader effort to reduce hierarchy and encourage in-person collaboration while also emphasizing their commitment to supporting the affected employees.
Okta
Okta, which is a company that specializes in identity management, has recently announced to its employees that it will be letting go of 400 employees. This is approximately 7% of its total number of employees.
Todd McKinnon, the CEO, expressed in a message to the employees that the company is experiencing the difficulties of having costs that are still too high, resulting in this difficult decision.
Warner Music
Warner Music has announced a substantial downsize in its workforce, with layoffs consisting of 10% of the company’s entire workforce being laid off.
The company is putting forth this effort to aid in generating cost savings, which will be reinvested into music and the company’s growth over the next decade.
Zoom
Zoom has decided to reduce approximately 150 positions as part of continuous efforts to improve efficiency in response to investor expectations.
This reduction is less than 2% of the company’s total workforce.
In efforts to reduce costs, Google has let go of hundreds of its employees from voice assistance, hardware, and engineering teams.
The company made a statement about its efforts to “responsibly invest in our company’s biggest priorities and the significant opportunities ahead.”
Blackrock
One of the biggest global asset managers, BlackRock, has announced plans to reduce its current workforce by approximately 3%.
This equals about 600 positions out of BlackRock’s total workforce of 19,800 employees. A source with the firm shared that the job reductions will not be aimed at any single team.
Amazon
Amazon is in the spotlight for reducing its Health Services workforce as part of its ongoing cost-cutting efforts. In an internal memo from the company it was revealed that the company has plans to get rid of hundreds of positions within its Amazon Pharmacy and One Medical division.
Employees Impacted by this movement will have the option to seek out other roles within the company.
Citigroup
Citigroup disclosed its plans to lay off 20,000 employees over the course of the next two years, which makes up approximately 10% of its workforce.
They decided to do this after the company had a poor quarterly financial performance, in fact it was the worst in over a decade.
Duolingo
Duolingo opted to trim its contract workforce by approximately 10%, this is part of a strategy to work towards a heavier reliance on artifical intelligence.
Duolingo has made it clear that none of their full-time employees were affected by these layoffs, and the company put forth effort to find alternative roles for all individuals before resorting to “off-boarding” as a last resort.
Discord
Discord gave confirmation that they will be reducing their workforce by a shocking 17%, resulting in 170 people losing their jobs. `
The company made the decision to downsize their workforce shortly after eliminating 40 positions back in August. In an internal memo, CEO Jason Citron stated that the layoffs are essential for Discord to improve its efficiency following a period of significant hiring in 2020.
Ebay
Jamie Iannone, eBay’s President and CEO, shared with employees through a memo that the company will be putting workforce reductions into place, resulting in the elimination of approximately 1,000 jobs.
This makes up about 9% of the company’s full time employees, in addition to this the company plans to reduce its contracts with the alternate workforce in the coming months.
Macy’s
Known for being one of the largest department stores, Macy’s is preparing to lay off approximately 13% of its corporate staff and shut down five stores. This initiative comes from efforts for cost-cutting strategies and redirection of spending to enhance the customer experience.
This reduction in jobs will equal about 2,350 positions, representing about 3.5% of Macy’s total workforce.
iRobot
The company best known for its Roomba products, iRobot, is scheduled to undergo layoffs following the collapse of its plans to be acquired by Amazon.
With the deal from Amazon no longer moving forward, iRobot has announced that it will be laying off approximately 31% of its workforce, resulting in about 350 employees losing their jobs.
Microsoft
Microsoft has plans to let go of approximately 1,900 employees within its gaming unit, adding up to about 9% of the units total headcount.
The CEO of Microsoft’s Gaming, Phil Spencer, made a statement about the layoffs being a part of a larger “execution plan” that is aimed at reducing “areas of overlap.” This decision comes a little over three months after Microsoft completed its acquisition of Activision Blizzard.
Paypal
Alex Chriss, PayPal’s CEO, made the announcement in an internal letter to employees of the company that it will be reducing its global workforce by 9%, resulting in approximately 2,500 job losses.
These reductions will impact both existing roles and planned job listings at PayPal and are expected to be implemented over the course of the year.
Sports Illustrated
Sports Illustrated is expected to lay off staff preceding the collapse of a licensing deal. The publication’s union has indicated that the layoff may impact “possibly all” of the NewsGuild workers it represents.
However, SI senior writer Pat Forde has contradicted earlier reports, stating on social media that the entire staff has not been laid off, and emphasized that the website and magazine are still operational.
Salesforce
Salesforce Inc. is putting forth job cuts that will affect 700 workers within the company.
According to a reliable source, less than 1% of the company’s workforce will feel the effects of these layoffs. It is worth mentioning that just a year ago, Salesforce reduced its headcount by 10%.
UPS
In an effort to realign resources in 2024, UPS has announced it has plans to let go of 12,000 employees in 2024.
CEO Carol Tomé stated that these reductions have the potential to save the company approximately $1 billion. Tomé acknowledged the challenges faced in 2023, describing it as a unique and difficult year marked by declines in volume, revenue, and operating profits across all three business segments.
Wayfair
Wayfair, the online retailer specializing in home goods, has announced its plans to let go of 1,650 employees, which accounts for approximately 13% of its global workforce. This is expected to save the company over $280 million.
In a news release, Wayfair CEO and co-founder Niraj Shah stated, “The changes announced today reflect a return to our core principles on resource allocation, such as getting fit on spans and layers as well as focusing on our highest priorities.”
Universal Music Group
Confirmed by a company spokesperson on Friday, Universal Music Group has plans to lay off some of its employees in 2024.
The world’s largest record label is set to join the trend of layoffs that have become the standard this year. It is anticipated that Universal Music Group may reduce its workforce by hundreds of jobs in the first quarter, with a focus on its recorded music division. However, no specific details about this matter have been given by the company.
Xerox
Xerox made an announcement that it had intentions to reduce its workforce by 15% in 2024, this is part of the company’s effort to introduce a new organizational structure and operating model.
In a filing with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, Xerox had approximately 20,500 employees as of December 31, 2022, based on that figure 3,075 employees will be impacted by this move.
GIPHY App Key not set. Please check settings