The IT sector’s wave of layoffs can be traced back to the economic turbulence ignited by the COVID-19 pandemic.
The tech industry continues to grapple with layoffs, with July seeing further reductions in workforce. Data from layoffs.fyi, a website tracking global job cuts, reveals that 34 tech companies laid off 8,383 employees in July alone. This adds to the nearly 190,000 tech jobs shed globally so far in 2024, impacting some 380 companies.
The trend began in July with significant cuts by US firms. Software company UKG slashed its workforce by 14%, letting go of nearly 2,200 employees. Similarly, Intuit Inc. announced a 10% reduction, impacting roughly 1,800 jobs. These examples highlight the ongoing challenges faced by the tech sector.
India’s Tech Sector Hit Hard
The domestic tech industry mirrored the global trend of workforce reductions in July.
Edtech giant Unacademy cut 250 jobs as part of a restructuring effort, while agri-tech company WayCool announced its third round of layoffs in a year, impacting 200 employees. The microblogging platform Koo, unable to secure an acquisition deal, shut down entirely, leaving its employees jobless. Bengaluru-based podcast platform Pocket FM also joined the list of companies downsizing, with nearly 200 job cuts. In total, approximately 600 Indian tech workers were affected by these layoffs.
The tech industry’s job cuts are a direct consequence of the economic upheaval triggered by the COVID-19 pandemic.
In response to the surge in demand during the pandemic, many tech companies overhired to meet the increased workload. However, as the global economy began to stabilize and business priorities shifted towards AI and cloud computing, the need for such inflated workforces diminished. This mismatch between staffing levels and operational requirements has resulted in the current wave of layoffs across the tech sector.
