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The technology industry is expected to cut jobs in 2022, with a total of more than 97,000 announced in the sector, according to a report released Thursday by outplacement services company Challenger, Gray & Christmas. That’s up 649% from the nearly 13,000 tech jobs being cut in 2021, the report said.
Overall last year, employers in the industry announced plans to cut nearly 364,000 jobs, according to the report — a 13% increase from the previous year. Still, the numbers represent a modest number of job cuts over the course of a year. Challenger said it was the second-fewest job-cutting announcement since it was tracked in 1993, with the lowest in 2021.
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The report comes as economists warn of a potential recession this year, leaving workers and employers worried. On Wednesday, Amazon CEO Andy Jassy confirmed the company plans to cut more than 18,000 jobs, which is even higher than the company previously said it would eliminate. Salesforce also announced Wednesday that it will cut 10% of its staff, or about 7,000 employees.
“The overall economy is still creating jobs, although employers appear to be actively planning for the downturn,” Andrew Challenger, senior vice president of the outplacement company said in a statement accompanying the report. “Hiring has slowed as companies take a cautious approach entering 2023.”
Tech companies, which grew rapidly at the start of the pandemic as services and communications were almost entirely online, have announced many job cuts in the past year as people have returned to their pre-pandemic habits.
The fintech industry has been hit hard as cryptocurrencies have suffered setbacks and recent scandals have rocked the sector. More than 10,000 fintech job cuts in 2022 represent a 1,670% increase from the 529 announced in 2021, Challenger said.
Cost-cutting was the main reason employers made cuts last year, accounting for more than 82,000 job cuts announced, according to Challenger. Market or economic conditions are cited in nearly 60,000 of these pieces.
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