Major tech companies including Google and Amazon, as well as startups, experience significant layoffs in 2024

Last year saw several tech giants lay off thousands of workers. Big names like Google, Meta and Amazon laid off much of their workforce to downsize as COVID-led growth slowed.

In 2024, we will again see layoffs in technology companies. Just this week, several companies laid off a ton of workers. Here is a list of companies that have laid off workers since the beginning of the year:

2024 layoffs so far

– Google, the search giant, laid off hundreds of employees from several teams, including its Voice Assistant unit, hundreds from the hardware team responsible for Pixel, Nest and Fitbit. In addition, it unleashed employees on its augmented reality team and core design team.

– According to a Forbes report, Amazon is cutting hundreds of jobs from its Prime Video and MGM Studios divisions. The company is said to be looking at “almost every aspect of its business” before making a decision.

– Humane, the startup behind the new AI Pin, has laid off 10 employees, which is 4% of its workforce. CEO Bethany Bongiorono says the cuts are part of “changes that best prepare us for continued growth.”

– Popular gaming streaming platform Twitch has also announced plans to lay off around 35% of its staff, which is around 500 roles. CEO Dan Clancy justified the move by saying the company is “significantly larger than it needs to be for the size of our business.”

– Another game streaming platform, Discord, is also laying off about 17% of its workforce of about 170 employees, The Verge reported. The company is said to be doing this to “bring more agility” to the company.

– The popular language learning platform Duolingo is also laying off its contract employees. The company is said to be using artificial intelligence to create content, which is why it no longer needs as many contract workers. However, the company’s full-time employees are not exempt at this time.