Several technology companies have recently begun to reduce their workforce after a surge in hiring during the COVID-19 pandemic, as people increased their online activity and spending.

Currently, numerous companies are implementing layoffs in order to reduce expenses and strengthen their financial performance.

These are a few of the companies that have recently downsized their workforce:

Google announced that it will be reducing its workforce in the hardware, voice assistance, and engineering departments, resulting in hundreds of employees losing their jobs. This decision aligns with the company’s efforts, as well as its parent company Alphabet’s, to cut costs. Last year, Google had also announced a layoff of 12,000 employees, which accounted for approximately 6% of its total workforce.

Riot Games, the creator of the widely-known multiplayer game “League of Legends,” is reducing its workforce by 11%. The company, owned by Chinese tech giant Tencent, announced that 530 jobs will be cut, representing approximately 11% of its employees. Based in Los Angeles, California, Riot Games stated that it had spread its resources too thin, leading to a doubling of its staff in a short period of time. To refocus on game development, the company is now implementing staff reductions.

TikTok announced that it will be reducing its workforce in the advertising and sales department. A representative from the company verified that 60 positions will be eliminated. The social media platform, which is under the ownership of ByteDance in Beijing, did not disclose the rationale behind the job cuts.

eBay Inc., an internet-based seller, plans to reduce its workforce by approximately 1,000 employees, which is equivalent to about 9% of its full-time staff. The company states that its expenses and number of employees are higher than the growth of the business in a sluggish economy.

Twitch, a subsidiary of Amazon, plans to reduce its workforce by over 500 positions in order to decrease expenses. According to an email from CEO Dan Clancy to staff, despite efforts to reduce costs and improve productivity, the platform is still larger than necessary for its current business size.

Audible, an online service for audiobooks and podcasts owned by Amazon, will be reducing its workforce by approximately 5%. A representative for Audible chose not to disclose the exact number of employees impacted by the downsizing. In a message to staff members, CEO Bob Carrigan stated that while the company is doing well, it is facing difficulties in a changing environment. Meanwhile, Amazon’s Prime Video and MGM Studios division are also letting go of numerous employees as they scale back in areas that are not meeting expectations.

In December, Spotify, a music streaming platform, announced plans to reduce its global workforce by 17% in order to lower expenses and prioritize becoming profitable. A representative verified that approximately 1,500 individuals will be affected by the layoffs, marking the company’s third round of job cuts in 2020.

Source: wral.com