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The Real Reasons For Big Tech Layoffs At Google, Microsoft, Meta, And Amazon
Forbes ^ | 30 January 2023 | Bernard Marr

Posted on 01/31/2023 9:10:15 PM PST by Cronos

what is the true reason for these mass cuts that have left tens of thousands (80% of them in the US) out of work? This was what data experts at 365 Data Science attempted to get to the bottom of when they decided to run their own analysis of the figures.

...the median time a recently laid-off employee has been in their role is roughly two years. This could suggest that, in some ways, these cuts represent a winding-back of hiring policies put in place since the pandemic.

More surprising though, was the fact that the median level of experience held by those who were let go is 11.5 years.

...the roles and job functions most affected were within HR, which accounted for 28 percent of all layoffs. There are two possible reasons for this – firstly, it follows that if companies are laying off staff, they will also be cutting back on recruitment, and less recruitment means less need for HR staff.

A second, though perhaps just as relevant reason, however, is that HR is an area where some functions are being replaced by automation. Platforms already exist that aim to automate routine tasks related to interviewing and onboarding new hires, such as checking references, verifying identities, and carrying out health and safety assessments. In recent years, it’s even been reported that companies such as Amazon have used AI to identify low-performing staff and then fire them.

...So, is it the case that the tech giants simply expanded too far, too quickly? Or is it that innovations in AI and automation have created a situation where the fastest way to save money is to replace people with machines? In truth, it’s likely to be a little of both.

(Excerpt) Read more at forbes.com ...


TOPICS: Business/Economy
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To: Cronos
There are two possible reasons for this – firstly, it follows that if companies are laying off staff, they will also be cutting back on recruitment, and less recruitment means less need for HR staff.

I concur that "less recruitment means less need for HR staff" - but wouldn't "laying off staff" conversely mean MORE need for HR staff?

Isn't firing someone as labor-intensive an activity for HR as hiring someone?

Regards,

21 posted on 01/31/2023 11:22:05 PM PST by alexander_busek (Extraordinary claims require extraordinary evidence.)
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To: EERinOK
28% released were HR? That is insane, being the HR depts exceed 28% to begin with.

No, 28% of those laid off were from HR.

That doesn't mean that 28% of the total workforce in any given company was in HR.

Regards,

22 posted on 01/31/2023 11:23:47 PM PST by alexander_busek (Extraordinary claims require extraordinary evidence.)
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To: Cronos

And most or all of the layoffs are US citizens not imported H1B workers.


23 posted on 02/01/2023 12:08:48 AM PST by Reno89519 (DeSantis or Anyone But Trump in 2024. Time for Trump to Retire, Spend Time With His Family.)
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To: alexander_busek

The ComDems helped by the CCP surrogates they bought, fully intend to destroy the USA and collapse the US Dollar as exchange currency.

So, they know they are going to crash the system and are cutting what they don’t need, new people.

Very short term thinking.


24 posted on 02/01/2023 1:03:25 AM PST by Texas Fossil ((Texas is not where you were born, but a Free State of Heart, Mind & Attitude!))
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To: EERinOK

28% released were HR?

I read that as meaning that 28% of those let go were from HR, not that 28% of the company was HR!


25 posted on 02/01/2023 1:27:09 AM PST by CIB-173RDABN (I am not an expert in anything, and my opinion is just that, an opinion. I may be wrong.)
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To: lewislynn

Musk


26 posted on 02/01/2023 1:37:07 AM PST by Palio di Siena
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To: EERinOK

which accounted for 28 percent of all layoffs.

Not 28% of the company...if I am reading that right...


27 posted on 02/01/2023 2:52:48 AM PST by Adder (ALL Democrats are the enemy. NO QUARTER!!)
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To: Cronos

It is refreshing to see that HR took the biggest hit. HR is a non-revenue producing direct to the bottom line expense usually populated with folks who have a god-complex because their edicts are the last word. If you pi$$ off an HR person, innocent or not, your job is on life support. Get your resume’ in order.

HR is a curse on capitalism.


28 posted on 02/01/2023 2:58:06 AM PST by ByteMercenary (Slo-Joe and KamalHo are not my leaders.)
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To: EERinOK

HR, I worked at banks and Insurance companies, and HR is where the LGBTQ movement infiltrated companies and forced woke-ism on employees.

Naturally, the staff getting hired in these departments were true believers. That also means they have no clue about reality.

Not all HR staff is insane. We need them, but once off the chain and out of the box, woke-ism runs rampant.


29 posted on 02/01/2023 3:04:25 AM PST by PA-RIVER ( )
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To: EERinOK

There is another way to interpret that figure without deducing 28% as the content of single companies.


30 posted on 02/01/2023 3:55:31 AM PST by Fester Chugabrew (/s)
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To: Cronos

Elon Musk set the example. The others are following.


31 posted on 02/01/2023 4:07:04 AM PST by The Truth Will Make You Free
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To: CFW

Good. HR is overhead.


32 posted on 02/01/2023 4:49:35 AM PST by glorgau
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To: Cronos
The data collected by 365 Data Science also shows that a narrow majority of the staff who were let go (56 percent) were female. This is worrying, given that the tech industry has spent much of the last decade attempting to address the gender imbalance already present within the field.

This comes as no surprise to anyone who can think. When you hire to satisfy DIE, you aren’t hiring based on knowledge, talent, ability, and work ethic.

33 posted on 02/01/2023 4:55:00 AM PST by Sicon ("All animals are equal, but some animals are more equal than others." - G. Orwell)
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To: SeekAndFind

Only those who got the memo to increase payroll for upcoming PPP rollout.


34 posted on 02/01/2023 5:00:17 AM PST by Robert DeLong
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To: Cronos

-——hiring policies put in place since the pandemic.——

More likely, the growth projected was killed by President Joe Biden, a labor man totally ignorant of what makes the economy run


35 posted on 02/01/2023 5:09:54 AM PST by bert ( (KWE. NP. N.C. +12) Juneteenth is inequality day )
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To: Cronos
One big reason for big tech layoffs at Google, Microsoft, Meta, and Amazon is that these firms branched away from Technology into Entertainment.

They witnessed the shift of advertising away from live television, watched viewer demand due to the Anti-Trump fueled news cycles, and thought they would cash in. Instead they lost money and now need to it scale it back.

36 posted on 02/01/2023 5:42:50 AM PST by T.B. Yoits
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To: Cronos
HR diversity seminars on LBGT and women empowerment in the workplace hardest hit.

Also, if you are a "chef" or "barista" working in a corporate cafeteria, be worried. They are coming for you next. Workers can bag their own lunch or get it out of a vending machine like everybody else.

37 posted on 02/01/2023 5:47:04 AM PST by SamAdams76 (4,857,036 Truth | 87,716,542 Twitter)
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To: imardmd1
I started my career repairing circuit boards back in the 1980s. I would remove toasted resistors and solder new ones on, for example. Then I'd hook up a multimeter to make sure the outputs were what they needed to be.

This was high tech at the time. I thought that was going to be my career forever.

Nowadays, all circuit boards are made by machine and components are at the microscopic level. When a board is blown, you toss it and replace with a brand new one.

Just a small example of how things change in a very short time. Never be complacent doing what you are doing. Chances are, the job you are doing today will be automated or rendered moot due to technology breakthroughs. For instance, every smartphone made has a high quality digital camera built into it. Bad news for those who thought cameras and film would be around forever (not too long ago).

38 posted on 02/01/2023 5:54:31 AM PST by SamAdams76 (4,857,036 Truth | 87,716,542 Twitter)
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To: Cronos

Every place I’ve worked (high tech) the HR departments build up a huge staff far beyond the company’s needs. Eventually the HR directors and managers don’t actually do anything. The low level HR people do everything.


39 posted on 02/01/2023 6:07:51 AM PST by subterfuge (I'm a pure-blood!)
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To: CFW

What is a D.I.E. employee?


40 posted on 02/01/2023 6:11:02 AM PST by joe fonebone (And the people said NO! The End)
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