Microsoft, Gopuff are latest to trigger layoffs, but tech’s hiring boom continues

The big layoff trend: Microsoft, Gopuff, and Twitter are the latest tech companies to announce job cuts amid the rising din of industry turmoil.

As of this week, over 28,000 tech workers at more than 150 companies have been cut from their roles since the beginning of the year, per Crunchbase.

The ones to watch: Despite saying that its sub-1% layoff announcement is part of annual restructuring and not tied to the economy, Microsoft already slowed hiring in May as a reaction to market conditions.

• Delivery startup Gopuff is cutting 10% of its workers and closing 76 warehouses.
• Twitter is in a hiring freeze and laid off 30% of its hiring acquisition team.
• After announcing plans to cut 10% of its workers, Tesla recently laid off 229 Autopilot workers and closed its San Mateo office.

Workforce cuts, by the numbers:

• Rivian: 5% of its workforce.
• EV-maker Canoo: 6% (58 people).
• AV company Argo AI: 6% (150 people).
• Netflix: 4% (450 people).
• Crypto company Coinbase: 18% (1,100 people).
• Cybersecurity company Deep Instinct: 10%.

Hiring is still strong: One may think the barrage of job cuts spells doom for tech workers. However, labor statistics paint a brighter picture for the industry.

• This is especially true for software developers and engineers sought by about a third of all job postings, according to a CompTIA report, per ZDNet.
• There were 204,084 jobs ads for software developers and engineers in June, an increase of over 77,000 from April.
• The report also showed that the 2.2 million tech job postings so far this year represents a 52% YOY increase.

What’s next? With tech giants like Google and Meta announcing hiring freezes, more layoffs could be on the way. But the longer-term outcome for the industry will likely be a mixed bag.

• Although layoffs are happening across the board, sub-sectors like cybersecurity, fintech, proptech, and ecommerce are especially affected.
• In an effort to keep operations humming until the economy recovers, we may see firms hire more contract, temporary, and part-time workers.
• Many companies will likely still continue hiring but will be more selective about specific roles, with little broad workforce expansions happening.
• The layoff trend will also likely ease The Great Resignation’s hold on the tech industry and curb Big Tech’s real estate expansion plans.