In this article, we look at the 15 big companies laying off in 2024 and discuss in detail the growing trend of job cuts. If interested, you can also read our report from last year on the 20 Biggest Companies Laying Off in 2023.
More than 90,000 employees have been laid off across the world in 2024, according to independent job cuts tracker, Layoffs.fyi. The number suggests that the layoffs are still going strong this year following significant workforce reductions in 2023 in which nearly 240,000 people lost their jobs, as Tech Crunch puts it.
Companies were forced to lay off a large share of their employees when the coronavirus pandemic struck in 2020. However, despite the world returning to normalcy, job cuts continue to remain high, primarily due to financial reasons, pressure from investors, and the need to eliminate certain departments and roles. The first week of June has just concluded, and already over 1,400 employees have been shown the door this month, after Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT), Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOG), OrCam, and Oda announced fresh rounds of layoffs.
On June 3, Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT) announced the decision, which is likely to impact around 1,000 employees, mainly affecting the company’s Mixed Reality Department which works on HoloLens 2. The Azure for Operators and Mission Engineering departments, which were formed in 2021, are also likely to be affected. Analysts are seeing the move as part of the organizational restructuring taking place in the company. Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT) laid off over 10,000 employees last year as well.
Job cuts have picked up pace since the beginning of January last year when it was reported that the company was under pressure from investors after recording its slowest revenue growth (2%) in six years during the last quarter of 2022. Between then and now, Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT)’s stock price has increased 79% from $236.6 per share on January 3, 2023 to its current level of $423.85. The company’s diluted earnings per share (EPS), however, only marginally increased from $9.65 in 2022 to $9.68 in 2023.
On the other hand, Google, owned by Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOG), announced cuts in several teams that are part of its cloud unit, including engineering and sales. According to CNBC, the management had informed employees of the impending cuts in the cloud unit a week in advance. Around 100 employees were laid off by Google. The report also highlighted that the move was part of efforts aimed at prioritizing investments in artificial intelligence.
Investors are pleased with the direction the company is headed, with its stocks gaining over 36% in the last 12 months. Lakehouse Global Growth Fund stated the following regarding Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOG) in its April 2024 investor letter:
Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOG) delivered a strong quarterly result that came in well ahead of analysts’ expectations. Revenue grew 15.4% (16.0% constant currency) to $80.5 billion and operating income grew 46.0% to $25.5 billion. Revenue growth accelerated across Search, YouTube Ads, and Google Cloud, all whilst the company delivered its highest operating margin since 2021 – showing meaningful progress in the company’s efforts to durably re-work their cost structure. On the Generative AI front, management emphasized the company’s infrastructure advantages including 5th generation TPUs (chips developed by Google specifically for AI training and inference), high performance data center architecture, and AI models that are 100x more efficient versus 18 months ago. Overall, we believe that Alphabet is well placed for the AI opportunity ahead and still has significant latent earnings power. When combined with a relatively undemanding valuation of 21x forward net profit and over $100 billion of cash on the balance sheet, it’s not hard to see why we remain positive on the range of outcomes in the years ahead.
Moreover, Israeli companies OrCam and Pagaya, along with Norwegian supermarket delivery startup, combined laid off around 350 of their employees from various departments of the business, citing financial and strategic reasons this month. The three companies, however, did not make the list of the top 15 companies with the most layoffs in 2024.
Let’s now head over to the companies that did.
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Methodology
We formulated the list of big companies laying off in 2024 using data published on Layoffs.fyi. The website has a comprehensive list of companies from various industries that have announced job cuts over the last few years. We filtered the date for layoffs announced in 2024, and have listed companies in ascending order of the number of employees laid off by them this year.
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Let’s now take a look at the list of top companies laying off in 2024.
15 Big Companies Laying Off in 2024:
15. Flipkart
Laid off: 1,100
We begin with Indian e-commerce company, Flipkart, which reportedly decided to lay off 5-7 percent of its workforce in January this year. In order to manage costs, the company had also put a freeze on fresh hiring over the past year.
14. Expedia Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:EXPE)
Laid off: 1,500
In an internal memo sent in February by Expedia Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:EXPE)’s CEO Peter Kern, it was communicated to the company’s employees that the management expects around 1,500 roles to be affected as focus shifts on cutting costs to focus on investing in core strategic areas.
13. Wayfair Inc. (NYSE:W)
Laid off: 1,650
In January this year, Wayfair Inc. (NYSE:W) announced it would cut its global workforce by 13%, which represented 1,650 of its employees. The layoffs affected members in the management and leadership positions as well. According to a report in CNBC, shares of the goods retailer surged 10% immediately following the announcement. This was the third round of layoffs at Wayfair Inc. (NYSE:W) since 2022, and is expected to help save around $280 million for the company.
12. Unity Software Inc. (NYSE:U)
Laid off: 1,800
Video Game software company, Unity Software Inc. (NYSE:U), decided to lay off around 1,800 of its employees in January 2024, which represented around a quarter of the company’s workforce. This was the largest round of layoffs in Unity Software Inc. (NYSE:U)’s history. Reuters reported that the company’s stocks went up nearly 5% after the announcement.
11. Farfetch
Laid off: 2,000
Luxury e-tailer Farfetch cut between 25-30% of its workforce in February this year, which was equivalent to around 2,000 employees. According to an internal memo of the company seen by Drapers, the decision to cut jobs was part of the new owner’s strategy to strengthen the company financially by streamlining the business. Due to a large number of employees who lost their jobs, Farfetch is among the big companies laying off in 2024.
10. PayPal Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:PYPL)
Laid off: 2,500
Under pressure from analyst downgrades, rising competition, and low profitability, PayPal Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:PYPL)’s CEO Alex Chriss announced in January to cut approximately 2,500 jobs, which represented 9% of the company’s workforce at that time. Chriss stated that PayPal Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ:PYPL) would continue to invest in areas that accelerate growth and that eliminating the positions will allow the company to drive profitable growth.
9. Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT)
Laid off: 2,900
Halfway into 2024, Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT) has already had two rounds of layoffs this year. The first being in January, when 1,900 jobs were cut at Activision Blizzard and Xbox, and then this month in June, when around 1,000 employees were laid off mainly from the company’s Mixed Reality Department. It is among the 15 big companies laying off in 2024.
8. Xerox Holdings Corporation (NASDAQ:XRX)
Laid off: 3,000
Like several other companies that we have covered so far, Xerox Holdings Corporation (NASDAQ:XRX) announced job-cuts at the start of the year in January, when it was stated that the digital printing and document management company would lay off 9% of its workforce, which at the time represented around 3,000 employees. According the Xerox Holdings Corporation (NASDAQ:XRX), the move was aimed at implementing a new organizational structure in the company.
7. Getir
Laid off: 3,300
Getir is a Turkish startup that provides on-demand delivery services for grocery and restaurant food. The company was founded in 2015, and operated in several countries. In April this year, Getir announced that it was pulling out of its operations in the US, UK, and Europe, in order to focus more on Turkiye’s market. Around 3,300 employees lost their jobs.
6. Toshiba
Laid off: 4,000
Next on our list of big companies laying off in 2024 is Toshiba, which cut 4,000 jobs domestically in Japan in May this year, as part of the company’s organizational restructuring under its new owners. Toshiba was delisted in December 2023 after a takeover by Japan Industrial Partners (JIP) for $13 billion.
5. Cisco Systems, Inc. (NASDAQ:CSCO)
Laid off: 4,250
After its shares dropped 9% in extended trading, coupled with bleak quarterly and annual forecasts for 2024, Cisco Systems, Inc. (NASDAQ:CSCO) announced in February this year that it would reduce its workforce by 5%. This equated to around 4,250 employees at that time. Cisco Systems, Inc. (NASDAQ:CSCO) was one among many other tech companies that laid off their employees in order to squeeze costs. It is fifth in our list of the big companies laying off in 2024.
