It is becoming clear that companies are not finished with layoffs.
It is only four weeks into the new year, and tens of thousands of jobs have already been slashed across a multitude of industries, from Wall Street to travel, tech and media.
Many executives attributed the cuts to ongoing efforts to reorganize. It underscores how concerns about the economy are forcing employers to tighten their belts in the face of high interest rates and stubborn inflation.
JOURNALISM BLOODBATH: 2024 KICKS OFF WITH NUMEROUS MEDIA LAYOFFS, LABOR ISSUES
Andy Challenger, senior vice president of executive outplacement firm Challenger, Gray & Christmas, had forewarned that cuts would continue into the new year after already surging 98% in 2023 compared to the year prior.
"Employers are still extremely cautious and in cost-cutting mode heading into 2024, so the hiring process will likely slow for many job-seekers and cuts will continue in the first quarter," said in a recent report.
Google parent Alphabet Inc. is reportedly slashing jobs within its innovation lab called X as it adopts a new structure.
In recent months, X – described as a diverse group of inventors and entrepreneurs that develops technologies to solve the world's hardest problems – has increased talks regarding funding with venture capitalists and other investors so they can launch projects even faster, people familiar with the matter told Bloomberg.
The lab's new structure will help projects spin out to become independent businesses even more quickly with support from Alphabet as well as outside backers, Bloomberg reported, citing one of the people and an email to staff obtained by the outlet.
The cuts resulting from this transition will impact support staff, sources told the outlet. The number of roles impacted was not disclosed.
Tech and retail giant Amazon announced on Jan. 10 that it was trimming the headcount within its media divisions.
Mike Hopkins, senior vice president of Prime Video and Amazon MGM Studios, told staff that the organization would be "eliminating several hundred roles" within the week.
Hopkins explained that the company has "identified opportunities to reduce or discontinue investments in certain areas while increasing our investment and focus on content and product initiatives that deliver the most impact."
At the same time, the CEO of Amazon's Twitch service, Dan Clancy, told employees that the company is slashing its headcount by 35% to around 500 people.
On Jan. 30, American Airlines confirmed plans to lay off 656 employees in its customer support department as it consolidates into one team.
In total, 335 employees in Phoenix and another 321 in Dallas-Fort Worth who are part of the company's AAdvantage Customer Service, Customer Relations and Central Baggage Resolution groups will be laid off, the Texas-based carrier told FOX Business.
Those groups fall under American's Service Recovery Team, which is dedicated to helping resolve customer issues after travel has occurred, such as lost or damaged baggage or loyalty program issues.
Business Insider, owned by multinational media conglomerate Axel Springer SE, is trimming approximately 8% of its workforce as it restructures.
"We closed out last year with a plan in place, a clear target audience, and a vision. This year is about making it happen and focusing our company and efforts towards this future," Business Insider CEO Barbara Peng wrote in a message dated Jan. 25.
She added, "We have already begun to refocus teams and invest in areas that drive outsize value for our core audience. Unfortunately, this also means we need to scale back in some areas of our organization."
Citigroup announced on Jan. 12 that it was planning to cut 20,000 jobs as it continues to execute its ongoing reorganization.
Citi said the positions would be cut "over the medium-term."
"Given how far we are down the path of our simplification and divestitures, 2024 will be a turning point as we’ll be able to completely focus on the performance of our five businesses and our Transformation," CEO Jane Fraser said in a statement.
Deutsche Bank said on Feb. 1 that it was cutting 3,500 back-office jobs as it aims to shave off billions in operational costs by 2025.
On Thursday, the German investment bank announced that it had made further progress on its operational efficiency program during 2023. The goal of the program is to cut costs by 2.5 billion euros, or about $2.7 billion.
While the bank made progress on this goal, it noted that it was still seeking to save 1.6 billion euros, or $1.7 billion. These savings will be driven by various measures "including simplified workflows and automation," the bank said.
Forbes will lose 3% of its workers.
Google said on Jan. 17 that it was planning to lay off several hundred employees on its advertising-sales team in another round of cost-cutting measures.
The layoffs come as Google plans to restructure its advertising-sales unit, reducing a team that focuses on large clients while expanding teams dedicated to small and medium businesses.
"Every year we go through a rigorous process to structure our team to provide the best service to our Ads customers," a Google spokesperson told FOX Business. "We map customers to the right specialist teams and sales channels to meet their service needs. As part of this, a few hundred roles globally are being eliminated and impacted employees will be able to apply for open roles on the team or elsewhere at Google."
Amazon and iRobot announced on Jan. 29 that they agreed to terminate the planned $1.4 billion acquisition of the vacuum maker after facing hurdles from European antitrust regulators.
Immediately after the announcement broke, iRobot said it was axing 31% of its workforce. The cuts are part of an operational restructuring plan designed to stabilize the company in the current environment, "while focusing on profitability and advancing key growth initiatives to extend its market share in the mid-tier and premium segments."
Levi Strauss & Co. announced plans on Jan. 26 that it will be cutting up to 15% of its global corporate workforce as it restructures under new leadership.
The cuts are part of the company's global productivity initiative and are expected to take place over the first half of the year under incoming CEO Michelle Gass.
"There's been a lot of volatility this past year, some in our control, some outside. And so we are taking a cautious approach as we look forward," Gass said in an earnings call with analysts.
The company has 20,000 employees globally, about 5,000 of whom are corporate employees. This means the layoffs will impact between 500 and 700 people. The company has not confirmed which departments or regions will be impacted.
Okta announced on Feb. 1 that it is cutting 7% of its workforce in order to fulfill its "commitment to profitable growth while running the business with greater efficiency."
About 400 employees will be impacted by the move, according to a regulatory filing.
"In order to grow profitably, we need to run the business with greater efficiency," Okta CEO Todd McKinnon told employees. "While we’ve taken steps in the right direction, the reality is that costs are still too high. We need to be mindful of our overall spend so we can continue to invest in areas, products, and routes to market with the most opportunity."
UPS plans to cut 12,000 jobs after its revenue forecast missed analysts' estimates.
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UPS said in a statement to FOX Business that its right-sizing its global workforce after having lower volume and seeing a more than $9 billion decline in revenue year over year. The company blamed these issues on the "dynamic external and economic conditions" in 2023.
UPS Chief Executive Carol Tomé echoed this in the company's earnings report, saying that 2023 was "a unique and difficult year."
Eric Revell, Chris Pandolfo, Megan Henney and Aislinn Murphy contributed to this report.
