New Delhi, January 11, 2024, started with several tech layoff announcements from Google, Amazon, BlackRock, and Meta. In 2023, many tech giants sacked employees due to restructuring plans, corporate strategies, and the adoption of AI automation. Last year, few reports predicted 2024 would have more tech layoffs in specific departments. However, the demand for some tech jobs, like data scientists, may rise. The tech downsizing is expected to increase in the following months. 

According to the report by Indian Express, "The tech hiring spree is over. Now it's layoff season." This week, many companies announced to lay off their employees, and some started laying off, like Meta, Google and Amazon. Google sacked several employees from its Augmented Reality (AR) department following the co-founders James Park and Eric Friedman of the Fitbit services. Google Layoffs 2024: Tech Giant Laying Off Hundred of Employees From Augmented Reality Division, Fitbit Leaders Reportedly Leave Company.

According to the report, the layoffs suggested Google is "rethinking its hardware strategy and winding down the Fitbit brand". The company acquired Fibit for $2.1 billion in 2019. As per the report by Business Standard, Amazon is to lay off several employees from its streaming and studio operations. The report said the company announced an internal memo related to this decision. Further, the report mentioned that the employees of Amazon Prime Video and Amazon MGM Studio will also be imapcted. Meta Layoffs 2024: Mark Zuckerberg-Run Company Lays Off Technical Programme Managers at Instagram, 60 Such Jobs Being Consolidated or Eliminated, Say Reports.

A few days ago, the global investment company BlackRock announced that it would lay off nearly 600 employees, about 3% of its global workforce. Amid these layoffs, the Mark Zuckerberg-owned Meta joined the other tech companies by laying off its technical program managers (TPMs). These layoffs suggest that more people will lose their jobs soon. According to the Indian Express report, "the industry is witnessing a concerning downsizing trend". It further mentioned that these trends could hint at the growing economic challenges. As per the report, the companies may aim for profitability while many people suffer unexpected job losses in the first week of 2024. The report hinted that "more are expected to follow." 

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Jan 11, 2024 02:16 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).