White-Collar Workers Are Still Being Targeted for Mass Layoffs

After a year marked by mass layoffs across multiple industries, white-collar workers have found themselves back in the crosshairs of companies looking to trim their costs.

Thirty-five technology companies have laid off a combined 5,586 workers over the past two weeks, according to industry layoff tracker Layoffs.fyi, as major companies look to refocus their operations and — in some cases — devote resources to projects based on artificial intelligence.

Google, for example, plans to fire hundreds of workers across several divisions so it can devote more resources to bigger "product priorities," including AI. Amazon has also begun firing hundreds of employees in its MGM Studios, Prime Video, Twitch and Audible divisions, so it can refocus its goals.

Several other tech companies, including Xerox Holdings, Unity Software and Salesforce, have also issued layoffs in recent weeks. Although tech companies embarked on mass-hiring sprees over the past few years, many found their efforts to be unsustainable. As a result, nearly 1,190 tech companies laid off a combined 262,682 workers last year, according to Layoffs.fyi.

"Today, we are increasingly clear on the need to sharpen our focus and improve the way we work together to bring more agility to our organization," said Discord CEO Jason Citron in a memo informing employees that 170 people would be laid off, The Verge reported.

"While difficult, I am confident this will put us in the best position to continue building a strong and profitable business that delivers amazing products for our users and supports our mission for years to come," Citron added.

Citigroup on Friday said it would cut 20,000 jobs from its workforce by the end of 2026 as part of its multiyear restructuring plans. Several major banks reduced their headcount last year, citing high interest rates and low attrition. BlackRock has also told staff it would cut 600 positions, the investment firm's third round of layoffs in the past 12 months.

NBC News on Thursday became the latest news organization to lay off dozens of employees, nearly a year after the company's last massive wave of firings. Several media companies — including CNBC, Vox Media and Condé Nast — have recently issued similar layoffs.

“It seems like the layoffs we saw last year were the beginning of a process,” Nick Bunker, director of North American economic research at Indeed, told The Wall Street Journal.

It's not uncommon for companies to end and begin the year with layoffs, according to according to Bureau of Labor Statistics data.

Companies often downsize operations in November and December as last-minute cost-cutting measures to help boost their balance sheets. With the new year, many firms see January as a time to adjust their priorities while dodging the bad optics of firing people during the holiday season.

“We often see quite a bit of layoffs in January,” Sarah Rodehorst, co-founder of Onwards HR, told The Huffington Post. “As they analyze their data from the last year, what budgets they have going forward, they really are planning strategies for the year, so there’s often a lot of restructures, reorganizations.”