Tech layoffs continue: Meta cuts jobs in WhatsApp, Instagram teams

Meta Makes Another Staff Cut While E-Commerce, Fintech And Even AI Sectors Report Total Shutdowns

The recent weeks have delivered unfortunate news for technology employees throughout the United States, as layoffs and closures have been reported from Kentucky to California in various industries.

Even the giant company Meta joined the layoffs trend by announcing that it is reducing staff from its WhatsApp, Instagram, and Reality Labs divisions. The exact number of employees who were laid off is not known, but the report stated that the cuts in the division were minimal and done to match resources with the divisions’ long-term strategic goals and location strategy.

AI is once again included in the list of companies laying off employees this week, as Grabango from Berkeley, California, decides to let go of some of its staff. Reports suggest that the check-out free tech startup, which has partnered with Aldi and various convenience stores like 7-Eleven, Circle K, and Chevron, is considering a potential IPO in the near future. The plans were hindered by a decrease in funding, causing the company to shut down. Established as a startup rival to Amazon, it made the difficult choice to stop its operations.

GoWild, an outdoor shopping/social commerce startup from Louisville, Kentucky, experienced a complete shutdown in the e-commerce sector. Established in 2017 with the goal of advocating for an outdoor way of life, the startup was unsuccessful in advancing from seed to Series A, concluding its last seed round in 2021. Meanwhile in Atlanta, another startup struggling to secure Series A funding was financial inclusion digital bank CapWay. With support from renowned investors Y Combinator and Fearless Fund, the fintech company, established in 2017, decided to close down this week.

Fable, a computer software company based in New York, which provides a web-based motion design platform, announced on its website that it has started the process of winding down. Based on information provided on the company’s website, the platform will permanently close down.

By the numbers

Layoffs during the week ended Oct. 18, 2024: At least 399 U.S. tech sector employees were laid off or scheduled for layoffs, per a Crunchbase News tally.

In 2024: At least 87,836 workers at U.S.-based tech companies have lost their jobs so far in the year, according to a Crunchbase News tally.

In 2023: More than 191,000 workers in U.S.-based tech companies (or tech companies with a large U.S. workforce) were laid off in mass job cuts.

In 2022: More than 93,000 jobs were slashed from public and private tech companies in the U.S.

Amazon layoffs

Amazon layoffs led the 2023 numbers with 16,000 roles cut.

Layoffs at Alphabet, the parent company of Google, totaled about 12,000. Microsoft’s layoffs total about 10,000 workers, as do Facebook parent Meta’s layoffs. Together with Salesforce, these tech companies conducted the largest layoffs of the past two years, totaling tens of thousands of roles.

While those numbers are alarming, as of early April 2023 the combined layoffs at these companies represent only 8% of the number of new hires they made during the pandemic.

Many other venture-backed tech startups have also done layoffs, pointing to a slowdown in venture capital funding and falling startup valuations as factors in their decisions to conduct layoffs.