Analysts and experts believe layoffs will continue through 2024, as Big Tech races to invest in AI, forcing layoffs to offset the billions of dollars they are spending on the technology.
Google laid off thousands of employees in early 2024 to save money to invest in AI. Photo: Reuters
Alphabet, Google's parent company, took the first step in that plan in 2024, declaring investing in AI a "biggest priority" and laying off about a thousand employees across multiple divisions.
Even its advertising business has not been spared, with a report on Tuesday saying hundreds of jobs have been cut at the unit.
Amazon also laid off hundreds of employees in its streaming and studio operations last week. Hundreds of jobs were also cut at its live-streaming platform Twitch and its audiobook unit Audible, according to media reports.
In total, major tech companies laid off more than 7,500 employees in January, according to tracking site Layoffs.fyi.
“No company wants to be left behind by the AI revolution and they are all making sure they have these capabilities and are prioritizing them,” said DA Davidson & Co analyst Gil Luria.
Both Google and Amazon are investing heavily in AI. Google is trying to close the gap with Microsoft in the AI race. Last month, it unveiled its long-awaited Gemini model, while Amazon is developing a model codenamed “Olympus” to compete with OpenAI, the publisher of ChatGPT, which has a GPT-4 model.
The tech sector is set to lose 168,032 jobs by 2023, accounting for the highest number of layoffs of any industry, according to a report earlier this month by Challenger, Gray and Christmas.
Leading the way are tens of thousands of cuts at Big Tech including Alphabet, Microsoft, Amazon and Meta, helping these companies cut costs significantly in 2023, which Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg calls the "Year of Efficiency".
Hoang Hai (according to Reuters)
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