Mumbai, December 25: Tech layoffs in 2024 have affected thousands of people amid the AI shift, which focuses on resource allocation and alignment and adopts restructuring businesses. The rise of new technologies like artificial intelligence made some of the industry's roles redundant and introduced new roles that required different skills. 

According to a layoff tracking website, Layoffs. FYI, the total number of employees affected by the job cuts was 1,50,034 from 539 companies. Amazon, Tesla, Microsoft, Google, Meta, Snap, TikTok, and others were some of many companies that reduced their workforce for various reasons. Besides these tech giants, several small companies also announced layoffs, cutting the workforce to save costs and restructure their business amid intense competition. xAI Hiring: Elon Musk’s AI Company Looking for Candidates for Multiple Positions for Advancing Its Projects After USD 6 Billion Funding Round.

Artificial intelligence, technological advancement, adoption of automation, mergers and acquisitions, business reorganisation, shutting down projects and offices, reallocating resources, and targeting the roles no longer required were some of the key reasons for cutting jobs in 2024. 

In November 2024 alone, tech layoffs affected 5,925 employees, according to a report by TechCrunch. This included the employees from these companies - Ola Electric laid off 500 employees, Headspace cut 13% of its workforce, LinkedIn let go of 202 people, Hopper reduced by 10% of its workforce, and Alphasense cut 150 jobs. AMD laid off around 1,000 employees, affecting 4% of its workforce, and other companies, including Freshworks, Akamai, Mozilla, Stoa, AppLovin, Truelayer and others, also laid off several people. 

In December 2024, Yahoo layoffs affected the company's cybersecurity team of 50 people, Boston Dynamic slashed 45 jobs, Stash let go 220 people, and other companies, including Bluevine, EasyKnock, Calendly, Foundry, and others, reduced their workforces. In December, the tech layoffs were not announced by major companies like in previous months; however, they were still significant due to companies like Lilium, which initiated layoffs affecting 1,000 individuals from its workforce. Hiring 2024: Online Job Postings Jumped 20% This Year With Over 12 Lakh Openings Amid Digital Adoption and SMB Sector Growth, Says ‘India at Work’ Report.

In 2025, tech layoffs are expected to continue as the year promises more industry reliance on automation, robotics, and artificial intelligence. However, some tech leaders, like Jensen Huang, CEO of NVIDIA, believe that AI will not take people's jobs, but the person using it might. 

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Dec 25, 2024 02:46 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).