102,000 job firings in US high tech in December, according to report

Robert Besser
07 Feb 2023, 00:52 GMT+10

A report released this week detailed how, in January, layoffs in the US reached a more than two-year high
Technology firms cut jobs at the second-highest rate on record in anticipation of a possible recession
According to the report by employment firm Challenger, Gray and Christmas, 102,943 workers were laid off in January, an over five-fold rise from last year

WASHINGTON D.C.: A report released this week detailed how, in January, layoffs in the US reached a more than two-year high, as technology firms cut jobs at the second-highest rate on record in anticipation of a possible recession.

According to the report by employment firm Challenger, Gray and Christmas, 102,943 workers were laid off in January, a more than two-fold increase from December and an over five-fold rise from last year.

In an effort to work through a downturn in demand and lower consumer and corporate spending due to high inflation and rising interest rates, many major companies, including Microsoft, Amazon and Goldman Sachs, cut thousands of jobs last month.

Andrew Challenger, labor expert and Senior Vice President of Challenger, Gray and Christmas, said, "We are now on the other side of the hiring frenzy of the pandemic years. Companies are preparing for an economic slowdown, cutting workforce and slowing hiring," as quoted by Reuters.

With the Federal Reserve expected to continue raising interest rates to curb inflation, which has remained high after several rounds of rate increases, more job cuts by US companies are expected.

"For companies that ramped up headcount over the past few years, they will likely shrink their workforce as the economy is headed towards a rough patch," noted OANDA analyst Edward Moya, as reported by Reuters.

Watch latest videos

News RELEASES

Publish news of your business, community or sports group, personnel appointments, major event and more by submitting a news release to Broadcast Communications.

More Information

26 ℃

Mostly Cloudy in Seletar

Business

Section

U.S. stocks rise sharply, Nasdaq Composite surges 210 points

NEW YORK, New York - U.S. stocks and the dollar made solid gains on Wednesday as banking sector fears continued ...

Twitter: Parts of source code leaked online

NEW YORK CITY, New York: In a legal filing, Twitter announced that parts of its source code - the fundamental ...

New Jersey bank said to be first choice to buy Silicon Valley Bank

NEW YORK CITY, New York: Bloomberg News has reported that New Jersey-based Valley National Bancorp is bidding to purchase Silicon ...

Higher bond yields dent U.S. stock markets

NEW YORK, New York - U.S. stocks lipped on Tuesday as bond yields rose in the aftermath of the easing ...

Eli Lilly announces new plant in Ireland; Limerick site to employ 300

DUBLIN, Ireland: US pharmaceutical giant Eli Lilly has said it will build a $1bn medicine manufacturing site in Limerick. Lily ...

Violent pitching on business jet kills passenger over New England

WASHINGTON D.C.: The US National Transportation Safety Board has said that after an automated cockpit warning that switched off a ...

Broadcasting

Section