Which are the companies that laid off today?

Ford

Ford announced on Tuesday that it plans to cut 3,800 product development and administration jobs in Europe over the next three years. 

The carmaker cited rising costs and the need for a leaner structure as it shifts production towards electric vehicles (EVs). Approximately 2,300 jobs will be cut in Germany, 1,300 in the UK, and 200 in other European countries. However, Ford will retain about 3,400 engineers in the region who will adapt US core technology to European customers. 

Martin Sander, European passenger EV chief and head of Ford Germany, said the reduction in jobs is a reflection of a shift in the industry towards EVs and the resulting changes in the amount of engineering work required. 

Sander said that Ford is maintaining its goal to offer an all-electric fleet in Europe by 2035. The company is set to launch its first electric vehicle built on Volkswagen’s MEB platform in Cologne later this year, with the possibility of bringing a Ford platform to Europe under consideration. The reductions will be achieved through voluntary separation programmes. The announcement was more severe than unions anticipated, with late January forecasts predicting 2,500 job cuts.

LinkedIn

LinkedIn has confirmed layoffs in its recruitment department; the exact number of employees impacted has not been disclosed. 

The decision comes after Microsoft’s layoff of 10,000 employees, of which LinkedIn is a subsidiary. The company had previously announced a hiring slowdown and not disclosed any plans to cut jobs. 

However, the CEO stated the company will not hire employees in certain verticals. Tech industries have been letting go of employees for the past year, including Amazon’s firing of around 18,000 employees and Google’s layoff of 12,000 people.

Twilio

Cloud communications company, Twilio Inc, has announced a restructuring plan that involves eliminating around 17 per cent of its workforce and closing some offices to focus on profitability.

The move is the second instance of job cuts in five months and comes as technology companies brace for a period of lower demand, high interest rates, and macroeconomic instability.

Twilio will reorganise its business into two units, Twilio Communications and Twilio Data and Applications, as the two parts of its business have different operating needs. The new units will include sales, research and development, and operational resources.

Jeff Lawson, Chief Executive Officer and co-founder of Twilio, stated that the move is necessary because the company’s revenue growth rate has slowed down after booming at the peak of the pandemic. Despite the company’s stock falling over 81 per cent last year, it has gained a quarter of its value this year as technology stocks have staged a revival after cost-cuts across the board.

Twilio had just under 9,000 employees as of September-end, and it is not clear whether this figure includes the impact of the latest retrenchment announced on September 14.

iRobot

The latest company to join the layoff spree is iRobot, the manufacturer of Roomba. On Monday, it revealed that it intends to terminate roughly 7 per cent of its workforce, which will impact 85 of its employees from a total of 1,254.

This is not the first time that iRobot has let go of workers; the company had previously terminated roughly 100 employees in August. During that time, iRobot had stated the need to better synchronise its cost structure with its near-term revenue and cash flow, as well as to enhance profitability.

In its earnings release, the company stated that the current layoffs were made anticipating that market conditions will continue to be difficult throughout 2023.

iRobot reported a loss of $84.1 million and revenue of $357.9 million in the fourth quarter. The company anticipates subdued orders for the first quarter of 2023. While in the midst of being acquired by Amazon, iRobot intends to terminate some of its employees.

Amazon had previously announced its plan to purchase iRobot for $1.7 billion in August last year. However, the acquisition is still undergoing an antitrust review by the Federal Trade Commission.

HackerEarth

HackerEarth, a startup that focuses on tech skills and recruitment, has let go of its employees in various areas. Additionally, in order to tackle the difficulties and secure long-term survival of the business, the startup has also implemented salary modifications throughout the organisation.

As reported by Mint, the number of affected employees is around 17 from its total workforce of 630 employees, however, it did not reveal how many employees were impacted in India.

The company cited unfavorable macroeconomic conditions, such as an economic downturn, funding crisis, and an impending recession in the US market, as reasons for the decision.

The company also offered a severance package that includes eight weeks of pay to the affected employees. Moreover, workers who had served for over two years at the company were given an extra week of pay for each year of service.

Sachin Gupta, the CEO of HackerEarth, stated that their company experienced a significant growth during 2020 and 2021. In preparation for the continuation of this trend, they expanded their workforce. However, the latter half of 2022 witnessed a reduction in recruitment, resulting in lower growth than anticipated. Therefore, in order to ensure the long-term sustainability and profitability of the company, they had to make adjustments for more difficult times ahead.