A gloomy end to 2022 as layoffs cloud the tech industry

It’s beginning to look like a sad end of the year for the tech industry. Over the past few weeks, the tech industry has seen thousands potentially losing their jobs after large tech firms like Amazon, Meta and Twitter announced job cuts for a variety of reasons.

The job cuts in the tech industry have not only been affecting employees in the US but also in the Asia Pacific region. In fact, several tech companies in Southeast Asia have also announced plans to reduce their workforce, despite the digital economy being forecasted to grow steadily in 2023.

In Singapore, Shopee has already announced plans for a third round of layoffs, while Indonesia’s GoTo will also cut about 1000 jobs. In Malaysia, tech unicorn Carsome also announced job cuts as it plans to examine business operations in the region.

The tech industry will see PC-maker Hewlett Packard (HP) stating that it will lay off as many as 6,000 employees over the next three years as the falling world economy continues to affect the US tech sector. With a total payroll of about 61,000 people, HP said it aimed to secure US$1.4 billion in annual savings through 2025 as it followed the cost-cutting methods of other tech giants.

The plan “will enable us to better serve our customers and drive long-term value creation by reducing our costs and reinvesting in key growth initiatives to position our business for the future,” HP CEO Enrique Lores said in a statement.

Meta said earlier this month it will lay off more than 11,000 of its staff and Twitter saw a half of its 7,500-strong employees culled just days after the company was taken over by billionaire Elon Musk in late October.

“These are the toughest decisions we have to make because they impact colleagues we care deeply about. We are committed to treating people with care and respect” an HP spokesperson said in an email to AFP.

HP, who make computer hardware and printers, revealed the layoff plan as it announced an 11.2% fall in revenues to $14.8 billion for the final fiscal quarter of 2022.

Other companies in the US that have announced job cuts include Cisco, where up to 4100 workers could be affected. San Francisco-based autonomous vehicle delivery startup Noru is also planning to cut 20% of its workforce while Roku released a statement saying it will reduce headcount by 5% to slow down its OpEx growth rate.

With the tech industry facing tests, most tech employees’ concerns are ensuring they still have a job in 2023. The tech industry has faced similar situations in the past and should eventually bounce back.

With the economic and geopolitical situations seeming worse by the day, there are concerns about whether more tech companies will announce job cuts. For example, tech giant VMware, which was acquired by Broadcom, could see a change in direction once the deal closes.

While smaller tech companies and startups could benefit from the influx of tech employees now available in the industry, affording them could also be a problem. At the same time, with the uncertainties in the economy, businesses will also be prudent in their tech investments for 2023.

With additional reporting from AFP 

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