In 2022 the historically booming tech sector announced several hiring freezes and growth slowdowns, which in turn caused mass job cuts and waves of uncertainty.
The result? More than 135,000 employees at tech companies across 90 US cities lost their jobs.
April to May 2023 Tech Layoffs (Snapshot)
- The number of tech layoffs continues to mount, with another 46,800+ layoffs solely occurring from April 1 to May 31, 2023.
- As of June 1, 395,700+ US tech employees have been laid off from more than 429 companies.
- The layoffs have affected 30 industries in the last months, with 7,500+ job cuts happening in the healthcare industry, making it the hardest-hit industry yet again.
- The Western region of the US was the most severely affected as workers faced 18,400+ job cuts from 116 companies from April 1 to May 31.
Which US cities were most affected by the layoffs?
Using data compiled from several authoritative sources (Layoffs.fyi, Layoffs Tracker, Crunchbase, and TechCrunch), we’ve produced a heat map to highlight how many people have lost their jobs and which cities have been hit hardest by the recent layoffs.
This interactive heat map below:
- is divided into the four US regions (labeled blue for the West, orange for the Midwest, pink for the South, and purple for the Northeast)
- helps you see the number of layoffs and affected cities when hovering over each area
- lets you scroll or click the plus-minus button so you can zoom in and out of various regions
As illustrated above, a staggering 686+ companies laid off employees in 2022. And in particular, 42.7% of layoffs were from the San Francisco Bay Area, one of the world’s most prominent tech hubs.
The updated statistics below reflect up to May 31, 2023, and show every US city location that faced job cuts:
- 138,859 employees lost their jobs in Northern California (primarily San Francisco and Silicon Valley)
- Seattle employees faced 52,902 job cuts from 98 companies
- 36,780 layoffs from 264 companies occurred in New York City
- In May 2023, healthcare company Oracle laid off 3,000 employees in Kansas City
How many layoffs occurred since the start of 2023?
As the tech industry prepares for further job cuts, we’ve gathered the most recent layoff statistics below in this updated line graph:
The layoff data trackers also reported these numbers:
| Month | Number of Layoffs |
|---|---|
| December 2022 | 90,700+ |
| January 2023 | 80,600+ |
| February 2023 | 41,650+ |
| March 2023 | 37,450+ |
| April 2023 | 19,400+ |
| May 2023 | 27,300+ |
Which US region faced the most layoffs in tech?
Even though it’s 2023, 2022 was still solidly the worst year for tech layoffs.
Every region in the US was affected by the job losses, but the Western United States felt the biggest blow.
Below is a bar chart depicting the number of layoffs that occurred since 2022:
Here are other data figures related to the job cuts per region:
- Over 84,800 people faced layoffs in the Western region of the US
- 27,716 tech employees were laid off in the Northeast
- 41 companies in the Midwest laid off 11,841 employees
- More than 10,788 tech workers were laid off in the South
Which month was the worst for US employees?
Notably, 36% of all job losses occurred in November 2022. Below is a line graph highlighting the number of US tech employees that faced job cuts in 2022:
The data reports also revealed these figures:
- 21,250 tech employees from 93 companies were let go in October
- In January, 3 companies laid off 510 people
- Over 13,300 employees from 130 companies lost their jobs in June
Which industries have laid off the most people?
Several industries in the tech world dealt with substantial changes in 2022. Here’s a pie chart showing the percentage of tech company layoffs from different job sectors:
The healthcare industry was the most severely affected out of all the industries, totaling 11.59% layoffs.
Below are other industry-specific statistics compiled from our data:
- The finance industry made up 9.71% of the job dismissals, coming in second place for the highest number of layoffs by industry
- The aerospace, agriculture, B2B, and social sectors were the least affected at 0.14% layoffs
- Even amidst COVID-19, the travel industry made up 0.58% of the job cuts
What’s driving the rise in layoffs?
Several theories exist about these large-scale tech layoffs. However, there isn’t just one simple answer.
Hasty hiring practices
As the US slowly recovers from the COVID-19 pandemic, certain organizations have admitted to hiring too soon.
Besides corporate restructuring, other factors behind the increasing amount of US layoffs include rising company interest rates and economic inflation.
Elon musk, cryptocurrency, and changing habits
2022 also saw Elon Musk purchasing Twitter, as well as a cryptocurrency market crash that shook up several cryptocurrency companies — and affected people’s wallets. The University of Michigan reported a decline in consumer attitudes due to “borrowing costs, declining asset values, and weakening labor market expectations.”
Similarly, a source from Morgan Stanley noted that although the labour market, wage growth, and personal spending numbers have held up in 2022, warning signs have also emerged. For instance, a rise in credit card debt and decreasing personal savings hint that an economic slowdown is creeping in.
Companies get creative to avoid more layoffs
It’s not uncommon for companies to explore alternative cost-cutting measures before resorting to layoffs, especially during economic downturns.
Apple
For instance, Apple announced it’d be cutting its corporate retail department by an unspecified amount of roles. However, employees are encouraged to reapply for other positions within Apple — and potentially at a lower rate.
Apple CEO Tim Cook also voluntarily cut his annual pay rate, with his previous $98.7 million compensation dropping to $49 million this year.
Salesforce
Cloud-based platform Salesforce has also been exploring various cost-cutting strategies ever since laying off 10% of its staff in January 2023. These tactics include using third-party salespeople, decreasing the number of sellers assigned to each deal, and emphasizing monthly sales targets for employees.
Strategies to reduce the possibility of employee layoffs
For other companies, alternative measures to reduce expenses may include:
- delaying or reducing bonuses and other forms of compensation
- pausing or slowing down hiring, including not filling open positions
- cutting back on employee benefits, such as travel allowances or special sick leave
- offering voluntary early retirement programs to eligible employees
- encouraging or requiring employees to take unpaid leave or reduced hours
- decreasing production or operational costs by leveraging AI tools
- implementing rotating work schedules to reduce labor costs
Predictions and possibilities for the rest of 2023
Are more job layoffs on the way? Most economists think so.
NABE 2023 survey
According to 48 economists who completed a survey by the National Association for Business Economics:
- 58% of the respondents envision a recession sometime in 2023
- 33% of them now expect a recession to begin in the April–June quarter
- 21%, or one-fifth of the economists, think a recession will start in the July–September quarter
Also, with tech giants such as Amazon, Netflix, and Facebook already cutting off thousands of jobs in the past few months, other organizations will likely follow suit.
However, the number of layoffs in tech still doesn’t mean everything is hopeless this year.
An increase in non-tech related jobs
In spite of the layoffs in the tech sector, the US has witnessed substantial growth in employment opportunities across multiple industries in 2023. For instance:
- The leisure and hospitality sector emerged as the leading employer by generating 128,000 new job positions
- The business services, government, and health care sectors also saw remarkable gains, with 82,000, 74,000, and 58,000 new jobs, respectively
- The retail and construction sectors contributed to the employment upsurge by adding a total of 55,000 new job positions.
The impact of these industries outpaced the projected job creation estimates, reflecting a positive trend in the country’s labor market.
Based on the above information, finding jobs in non-tech-related sectors or lesser-known tech companies is still possible. Alternative opportunities for tech workers might look like:
- taking a break to upskill and re-evaluate their next career moves
- finding remote work more easily in the post-pandemic era
- joining a startup or smaller company as an experienced tech professional
Takeaways
During uncertain economic conditions, staying prepared and (cautiously) optimistic is key.
Gaining knowledge on the latest industry trends and equipping yourself with resources like the following will help you successfully navigate this year and beyond:
- A good resume builder
- Guides on making a resume and cover letter writing
- Free resume templates
- Job-specific resume examples
- Articles outlining interview tips for 2023
