Tech industry layoffs

Google has laid off 12,000 people, Microsoft 10,000, and Amazon 18,000. Now, Spotify is joining the mayhem as it lays off nearly 600 employees.

Transcript

00:00More than 50,000 employees have been affected by sweeping tech layoffs recently,

00:04and now Spotify is joining in on the job cuts.

00:07So why is the tech industry laying off so many workers?

00:09Brooke can explain in less than 60 seconds.

00:11Spotify CEOs sent a note to employees on Monday morning announcing the job cuts,

00:15which is estimated to affect 6% of its workforce or 600 people.

00:20Other tech companies have done similar large-scale layoffs recently.

00:22Google announced plans to lay off 12,000 people last week.

00:26Microsoft will make 10,000 job cuts,

00:28while Amazon will shrink its workforce by 18,000 people.

00:31Many CEOs have cited unsustainable growth projections made during the pandemic,

00:35when many tech companies went on massive hiring sprees

00:38to keep up with demand that has since decreased.

00:40Some are also blaming the uncertainty of the economy's future.

00:43But experts have warned these layoffs don't necessarily mean a recession is looming.

00:46So far, the mass layoffs have been largely contained in the tech and tech-adjacent industries,

00:51and major tech roles account for just 0.3% of the overall job market.

00:55On top of that, the country's unemployment rate fell to a 50-year low of 3.5% last month.