While the latest jobs report shows a robust labor market, a glance at the tech and startup industry is telling a different story.
Over the last few months, a number of technology companies and venture capital–backed firms have announced plans to either freeze hiring, rescind accepted offers, or lay off employees.
This week, Tesla’s CEO Elon Musk ordered a hiring pause worldwide, citing a “super bad feeling” about the economy, according to an email obtained by Reuters. His comments came just days after JPMorgan’s CEO Jamie Dimon warned of an economic “hurricane” ahead as the Federal Reserve continues its process of normalizing interest rates.
Against the backdrop of such ominous commentary, here’s a list of the latest companies to have announced hiring freezes, layoffs, and slowdowns.
Tesla (TSLA)
In addition to Musk’s email to execs, the electric vehicle giant’s CEO also sent a message to employees on Friday informing them of plans to cut 10% of the workforce. “Note, this does not apply to anyone actually building cars, battery packs or installing solar,” Musk wrote in the note. Tesla has almost 100,000 employees worldwide.
Coinbase (COIN)
The cyrpto exchange platform announced it will extend a hiring freeze for the foreseeable future. Coinbase will also rescind some offers that have been already been accepted. “We always knew crypto would be volatile, but that volatility alongside larger economic factors may test the company, and us personally, in new ways. If we’re flexible and resilient, and remain focused on the long term, Coinbase will come out stronger on the other side,” Coinbase’s chief people officer L.J Brock said in a blogpost. Coinbase has more than 4900 employees.
Nvidia (NVDA)
Chip maker Nvidia is similarly pumping the brakes on hiring at the moment, with CFO Colette Kress writing in her own commentary following the company’s Q1 earnings report that the graphics card giant will slow hiring in the second half of of its fiscal 2023 to integrate the employees it has already hired. Nvidia was stung by both China’s COVID lockdowns and stopping sales in Russia, missing analysts’ estimates for its Q2 and saying it will take a $500 million hit due to the twin crises. The company has 22,473 employees across 57 locations worldwide.
Microsoft (MSFT)
In May, Microsoft told Bloomberg that it was slowing hiring for its Office, Windows, and Teams groups to better prepare itself for the coming fiscal year and contend with the current economic environment. The Redmond-based tech giant reported strong Q3 earnings, with a 26% year-over-year increase in cloud revenue, but in early June, the company revised its Q4 revenue and earnings guidance downward, citing the impact of foreign exchange fluctuations. The tech giant has 181,000 employees.
Netflix (NFLX)
Last month, Netflix confirmed it would cut about 150 positions of the streaming giant’s 11,000 workforce in an effort to reduce costs amid slowing revenue growth. “These changes are primarily driven by business needs rather than individual performance, which makes them especially tough as none of us want to say goodbye to such great colleagues,” a Netflix spokesperson said in a statement. Netflix has roughly 11,300 employees.
Lyft (LYFT)
The ride hailing company announced it would slow down hiring and reduce costs, though it promised there would be no layoffs. “It’s clear from our discussions with other business leaders that every company is taking a hard look at how they respond to concerns about an economic slowdown and the dramatic change in investor sentiment,” Lyft president John Zimmer wrote in an internal message reviewed by The Wall Street Journal. Lyft currently has about 4,791 employees.
Snap (SNAP)
Snap recently warned it will not meet its revenue goals and aims to reduce costs. The parent company of Snapchat sad it would slow hiring. “Moving forward, we will be taking steps to reprioritize our investments — continuing to invest across our business priorities, but in many cases doing so at a slower pace than we had planned given the operating environment,” CEO Evan Spiegel wrote in an internal memo to employees in May. The social media co has 5,661 employees.
Wayfair (W)
Also in May, e-commerce giant Wayfair announced a 90-day hiring freeze citing macro uncertainty. In a statement to Yahoo Finance, the e-commerce platform said, “We’re pleased that typical seasonal sales trends are taking hold, but we see a great deal of uncertainty in the overall economy and believe it’s prudent to make some adjustments that will allow us to control our own destiny.” The company employs 16,681 people.
Uber (UBER)
In early May, Uber’s CEO Dara Khosrowshahi said the ride sharing company would scale back hiring and cut costs. “The least efficient marketing and incentive spend will be pulled back. We will treat hiring as a privilege and be deliberate about when and where we add headcount,” Khosrowshahi said in an email viewed by Reuters. The company employs 29,300 workers.
Carvana (CVNA)
Online used car retailer Carvana recently laid off 12% of its workforce, or 2,500 employees. The startup laid off many of its employees over a Zoom call. “Recent macroeconomic factors have pushed automotive retail into recession,” the company stated. “While Carvana is still growing, our growth is slower than what we originally prepared for in 2022, and we made the difficult decision to reduce the size of certain operations teams to better align with the current needs of the business.” The company employs 21,000 workers.
Twitter (TWTR)
In May, Twitter froze hiring and said it would retrieve some job offers ahead of a buyout offer from Musk. The social media company also scaled back on costs such as travel, consulting, and marketing, according to the memo. Twitter employs roughly 7,500 employees.
Meta (FB)
Meta is limiting its intake of new employees in an effort to cut costs due to weak revenue forecasts. Facebook’s parent company is pausing or slowing down hiring for most mid-to-senior level positions after announcing a strategy to expand into the metaverse. The social media giant has 71,970 employees worldwide.
Apple (AAPL)
While Apple isn’t making changes on the corporate level, Bloomberg reports that the company is slowing hiring of employees at its retail locations. Specifically, the iPhone maker is holding off on filling positions for some of its tech support Genius roles at retail stores. Recently, Bloomberg reported that Apple will keep the number of iPhone orders flat year-over-year. The tech giant employs 154,000 people around the world.
Robinhood Markets (HOOD)
In April, the popular investing app Robinhood announced it will cut about 9% of its full time work force following a massive hiring spree. “As you know, throughout 2020 and H1 2021, we went through a period of hyper growth accelerated by several factors including pandemic lockdowns, low interest rates, and fiscal stimulus,” CEO Vlad Tenev told employees in a blog post. The brokerage platform employs 3,800 full-time workers.
DoorDash (DASH)
The food delivery platform warned staff of a slowdown in headcount back in April. Doordash ballooned to 8,600 employees last year, an increase of more than 50%. The company reportedly plans to scale back its count this year to anywhere between 10%-15%. DoorDash employs 8,600 workers.
Peloton (PTON)
In February, Peloton said it would cut 2,800 jobs amid a strategy overhaul. The connected fitness equipment maker announced the departure of CEO John Foley after a challenging quarter and slowing demand. The company has 8,662 full-time employees.
Ines is a markets reporter covering equities. Follow her on Twitter at @ines_ferre
Dan Howley is a tech reporter for Yahoo Finance. Follow him on Twitter @DanielHowley
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Source: finance.yahoo.com