US tech layoffs running at highest level since 2015, Challenger says

Layoff announcements among US technology firms reached their highest monthly level for seven years following Microsoft's announcement earlier in the day that it would shed 10,000 employees, a top staffing agency said.

The software giant's announcement took the month-to-date tally for January to 19,150, the most since September 2015, when Hewlett Packard announced a 32,500 cuts as part of a restructuring drive, said Challenger, Gray and Christmas.

"Like with other more established sectors, Tech is maturing and that typically leads to workforce reductions as companies shift focus," said Andrew Challenger, labor expert and the consultancy's senior vice president.

"With the softening economy, those cuts become even more necessary and, in some cases, larger."

Since November, tech companies had announced 88,114 job cuts including at the likes of Amazon, Meta and Twitter.

2022's 97,171 job cut announcements in the sector had been the most since 2022, when 131,294 layoffs were announced, while the record was set in 2021 with 168,395 reductions.