Jan 19, 2023
By: Bharghavi NagarajuBarely a month into 2023, 122 tech companies globally laid off 37,526 employees – or 1,975 employees per day, as per data from Layoffs.fyi. In 2022, over 1.54 lakh employees were fired globally by tech companies.
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As per IANS, Amazon kickstarted the process to lay off 18,000 people. Microsoft said that it will lay off 10,000 employees, cutting about 5 percent of its global workforce. Meta fired 13 percent of its workforce. Chip maker Intel was looking to cut its staff – affecting nearly 20 percent of its employees, as per a Bloomberg report in October.
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Employees’ reactions have ranged from stoic resignation to shock, insecurity, legitimate anger and disgust. Several took to social media to vent their frustrations and for many on work visas, it was a mad scramble to find a job.
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An Amazon employee sold properties in anticipation of moving to another country to take up a new job. Tom Mboya Opiyo was fired just four days before he was set to relocate to Europe from Kenya.
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“My family is truly devastated after planning for the move for 6 months but I trust that God has a plan for us. They will go for counseling and I hope this helps,” Opiyo said on a LinkedIn post.
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He passed on two tips to those planning to take up global opportunities: Go first, take the family later so you don’t put all your eggs in one basket. And secondly, don’t resign until you get the visa.
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“I didn’t expect to be in this kind of situation at this stage in my career but that’s what life is about. Some have to experience certain situations so as to be an example to others. Keep us in prayer. God is good all the time,” he signed off stoically.
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Anger and disgust ran rampant among many Amazon employees. As per IANS, a senior manager at Amazon said, "I don't even know if I want to work for this company any more. This is a horrendous way to treat people."
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Omprakash Sharma took to LinkedIn to share about his challenging 2022 when he lost his father after struggling for almost 3 months in ICU. This January, he said, he was impacted by Amazon’s recent layoffs.
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“For the folks who are in the same boat, while this is a tough time, stay positive, stay motivated. These small interruptions in life won’t stop from moving forward, fight back and come back stronger,” said Sharma urging people to spread the word around so he could get the right opportunity.
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Posting her resume on LinkedIn, Harshita Jhavar said she was affected by the layoffs at Microsoft. She sought help finding a suitable job saying – “I am on a visa and have limited time to find a new position.” She ended her post with – “ I will be persistent until I crack my next move!”
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Dave Limp, senior vice president of devices and services at Amazon, wrote in an internal post, "In cases where employees cannot find a new role within the company, we will support the transition with a package that includes a separation payment, transitional benefits, and external job placement support."
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