In 2024, it is still not very friendly for technology workers. In less than two weeks, the number of employees planned to be laid off in Silicon Valley in the United States has reached over 5500.
Technology giants Google and Amazon both announced large-scale layoffs this week, affecting numerous departments. In addition, social media platform Discord announced a 17% layoff, gaming service provider Unity Software announced a 25% layoff, and language learning application Duolingo announced the layoff of 10% of its regular employees.
According to Layoff. fyi data, in 2024, over 5500 employees in the US technology industry were unemployed. In 2023, the technology industry laid off a total of 262682 employees, while in 2022, the number of layoffs was 164969.
It is worth noting that while layoffs are occurring, Silicon Valley is continuously increasing its investment in artificial intelligence. Although major companies are trying to weaken the relationship between the two, people are concerned about the tendency of artificial intelligence technology to take away the living space of labor. AI has become an important reference factor in the company's human resources plan.
AI becomes an important reason
In the months leading up to the revocation of hundreds of positions, Google and Amazon each invested billions of dollars in the AI startup, Antitopic. Google and another company, Duolingo, have revealed that they are seeking to mobilize other resources to harness the prosperity brought by artificial intelligence, and human resources are clearly the one being mobilized.
Google Software Engineer and Alphabet Workers Union Chairman Parul Koul said that employees who were announced to be laid off this week were shocked when they received the termination email. He criticized Google's redundant and greedy layoffs, which would have the opposite effect.
Google explained that layoffs are aimed at helping teams become more efficient and work better, and it also stated that it is supporting employees in finding new jobs.
Roger Lee, founder of Layoffs. fyi, pointed out that some of the layoffs in the technology industry are related to historical legacy issues. During the pandemic, due to fiscal overheating, the industry recruited redundant manpower, and now the entire industry is correcting this excessive recruitment problem.
In addition, Lee also stated that the high interest rate environment and the sluggish technology industry are important reasons for companies to adjust their strategies. However, even if these factors exist, artificial intelligence does play an increasingly important role in the wave of layoffs.