Amgen to cut 450 jobs on inflation woes; Here's list of layoffs by US firms

US Biotechnology firm Amgen Inc is slashing its workforce by about 450 jobs, less that 2% of its workforce, the company said, citing pressure on drug prices and high levels of inflation as the reason.

However, IT firms were the first to embark on the trend of mass layoffs and cost cuts in anticipation of an economic downturn. Twitter was among the first technology giants to slash its workforce during last year’s market rout. Twitter last year sacked nearly 10,000 employees and continued the same trend in January 2023.

Besides, Meta, Amazon, Microsoft, Netflix several other global players laid off employees. According to data by Layoffs.fyi, more than 2 lakh staff were fired in 2022.

In another report by Challenger, Gray & Christmas, a global outplacement and career transitioning firm, 1,004 tech companies laid off 152421 employees globally in 2022-23, surpassing the Great Recession levels of 2008-2009.

During the 2008 recession 65,000 tech workers lost their jobs, the report mentioned.

Interest rate hikes by global central banks to tame stubborn inflation have weighed on consumer and corporate spending, affecting the outlook for companies from Amazon.com Inc and Walt Disney Co to Wall Street heavyweights Goldman Sachs Group and Morgan Stanley.

Here are some of the job cuts by major American companies announced in recent weeks.

Meta Platforms Inc:

The Facebook parent said it would cut 10,000 jobs, just four months after it let go of 11,000 employees.

IBM Corp:

The software and consulting firm said it will lay off 3,900 employees.

Spotify Technology SA:

Music streaming service Spotify is cutting 6% of its workforce or roughly 600 roles.

Alphabet Inc:

Alphabet Inc is eliminating 12,000 jobs, its chief executive said in a staff memo.

Microsoft Corp:

The tech giant said it would cut 10,000 jobs by the end of the third quarter of fiscal 2023. The company laid off under 1,000 employees across several divisions in October, Bloomberg news agency reported.

Amazon.com Inc:

The e-commerce giant said company-wide layoffs would impact over 18,000 employees.

Intel Corp:

The chipmaker said it would reduce costs by $3 billion in 2023.

Twitter Inc:

The social media company has laid off at least 200 employees, or about 10% of its workforce, the New York Times reported. The layoffs come after Twitter terminated about 3,700 people, representing about half of the total staff, in November, soon after Elon Musk took over the firm.

Lyft Inc:

The ride-hailing firm said it would lay off 13% of its workforce, or about 683 employees after it already cut 60 jobs earlier this year and froze hiring in September.

Salesforce Inc:

The software company said it would lay off about 10% of its employees and close some offices as a part of its restructuring plan, citing a challenging economy.

Cisco Systems Inc:

The networking and collaboration solutions company said it will undertake restructuring which could impact roughly 5% of its workforce. The effort will begin in the second quarter of the fiscal year 2023 and cost the company $600 million.

HP Inc:

The computing devices maker said it expected to cut up to 6,000 jobs by the end of fiscal 2025.

Workday Inc:

The software company will cut roughly 500 jobs, or 3% of its workforce, citing a challenging macroeconomic environment.

NetApp Inc:

The cloud firm announced an 8% reduction in its global workforce. The company had 12,000 employees as of April 29, 2022.

Rivian Automotive Inc:

The company is laying off 6% of its workforce to cut costs as the EV maker, already grappling with falling cash reserves and a weak economy, braces for an industry-wide price war.

Match Group:

The Tinder parent said it would lay off about 8% of its workforce, a day after it forecast first-quarter revenue below Wall Street expectations.

Dell Technologies Inc:

The company will eliminate about 6,650 jobs, or 5% of its global workforce, as the PC maker grapples with falling demand and braces for economic uncertainty.

Palantir Technologies Inc:

The data analytics firm said it had cut about 2% of its workforce. Palantir, known for its work with the US Central Intelligence Agency, had 3,838 full-time employees as of 31 December, 2022.

FINANCIAL SECTOR

Goldman Sachs Group Inc:

Goldman Sachs began laying off staff on 11 January in a sweeping cost-cutting drive, with around a third of those affected coming from the investment banking and global markets division, a source familiar with the matter told Reuters.

The job cuts are expected to be just over 3,000, one of the sources said on 9 January, in what would be the biggest workforce reduction for the bank since the financial crisis.

Morgan Stanley:

The Wall Street powerhouse is expected to start a fresh round of layoffs globally in the coming weeks, Reuters reported on Nov. 3, as the dealmaking business takes a hit.

Citigroup Inc:

The bank eliminated dozens of jobs across its investment banking division, as a dealmaking slump continues to weigh on Wall Street's biggest banks, Bloomberg News reported.

BlackRock Inc:

The asset manager is cutting up to 500 jobs, Insider reported, citing a memo.

Genesis:

The cryptocurrency firm has cut 30% of its workforce in a second round of layoffs in less than six months, a person familiar with the matter told Reuters.

Coinbase Global:

The cryptocurrency exchange said it would slash nearly 950 jobs, the third round of workforce reduction in less than a year after cryptocurrencies, already squeezed by rising interest rates, came under renewed pressure following the collapse of major exchange FTX.

Stripe Inc:

The digital payments firm is cutting its headcount by about 14% and will have about 7,000 employees after the layoffs, according to an email to employees from the company's founders.

CONSUMER AND RETAIL SECTOR

Beyond Meat Inc:

The vegan meat maker said it plans to cut 200 jobs this year, with the layoffs expected to save about $39 million.

Blue Apron Holdings Inc:

The online meal-kit company said it will cut about 10% of its corporate workforce, as it looks to reduce costs and streamline operations. The company had about 1,657 full-time employees, as of Sept. 30.

DoorDash Inc:

The food delivery firm, which enjoyed a growth surge during the pandemic, said it was reducing its corporate headcount by about 1,250 employees.

Bed Bath & Beyond:

The retailer will lay off more employees this year in an attempt to reduce costs. Last year, company executives had said the home goods retailer was cutting about 20% of its corporate and supply chain workforce.

ENERGY AND RESOURCES SECTOR

Dow Inc:

The chemicals maker said it would cut about 2,000 jobs as it navigates challenges including inflation and supply chain disruptions.

Phillips 66:

The refiner reduced employee headcount by over 1,100 as it seeks to meet its 2022 cost savings target of $500 million. The reductions were communicated to employees in late October.

HEALTH AND PHARMACEUTICAL SECTOR

Johnson & Johnson:

The pharmaceutical giant has said it might cut some jobs amid inflationary pressure and a strong dollar.

AUTO SECTOR

General Motors:

The US Automotive manufacturer is making some performance-related job cuts among some of its salaried employees and executives.

The Detroit automaker did not specify how many jobs would be eliminated but did say it would impact a relatively small number of workers.

OTHER JOB CUTS OUTSIDE US:

British Steel plans to cut up to 260 jobs in Britain after being hit by soaring energy costs. The announcement comes as British Steel, owned by Chinese group Jingye since 2020, seeks financial support from the UK government.

Indonesia’s GoTo Group cut 12% of its workforce.

Canada -based Shopify Inc cut 1,000 jobs in July 2022.

Deutsche Bank AG is looking at ways to cut jobs to ensure it will hit its cost targets, Bloomberg reported.

Swedish telecom operator Telia in January this year initiated talks with unions in Sweden, Finland, and Norway for further potential job cuts as part of a restructuring plan announced two years ago.

Vodafone Group Plc reportedly planned to shed several hundred jobs, most of which are located at its London headquarters.