Once again the fear of layoffs seems to be deepening in the tech industry. The world’s leading tech companies are now trying to strike a balance between reducing expenses and investing heavily in Artificial Intelligence (AI). In this series, Meta and Microsoft have taken such decisions, which may affect the jobs of about 23,000 employees. This step shows that tech companies are now re-adapting themselves in the rapidly changing times.
Meta’s big step
Meta has made it clear in an internal note sent to its employees that the company is planning to reduce the workforce by 10%. This means that the jobs of about 8000 employees will be affected. Not only this, the company will not fill 6000 vacant posts at present. This layoff may start from May 20. The company says that this decision has been taken to make operations more skilled and to balance the expenses of big investments like AI.
Microsoft new plan of
On the other hand, Microsoft has proposed a large-scale voluntary buyout for its American employees. About 7% of the company’s American employees can come under the scope of this scheme, that is, about 8750 people can get this offer. This is the first time that Microsoft has come up with a buyout plan on such a large scale. The company is giving priority to those employees whose age and service period combined is 70 years or more.
Heavy investment in AI became the reason
Both companies are currently spending billions of dollars on Artificial Intelligence. Microsoft is building new data centers around the world and has recently announced major investments in Japan and Australia. At the same time, Meta is also preparing to spend record on AI projects and partnerships. In such a situation, companies are taking steps like reducing their workforce to reduce their other expenses.
Increased anxiety among employees
The news of continuous layoffs has created an atmosphere of insecurity among the employees. Retrenchments have already taken place in many departments of Meta, which has further increased the anxiety of the employees. Both Meta and Microsoft are scheduled to present their quarterly results on April 29. In such a situation, investors and employees will keep an eye on the direction in which the companies move forward.
SK Sharma is a content writer who writes on news, entertainment, and lifestyle topics. She has over four years of experience and is known for conveying information in simple and clear language.
