Layoff Watch: Cuts, freezes taking a rising toll on tech firms, startups

RESEARCH TRIANGLE PARK – Headlines of job cuts, layoffs, and even quiet layoffs continue to sweep the nation, even as the latest data from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics found that the nation’s economy added a better-than-expected 263,000 jobs in September. Tech sector layoffs have now climbed above 42,000.

Still, in the tech sector and in the real estate industry, there has been a significant increase in search traffic about whether layoffs have occurred or will occur.

And Layoffs.fyi notes 671 startups have cut 86,099 jobs.

But the jobs picture presents no consensus. For example, 40 companies tracked by WRAL TechWire in the Triangle are seeking to fill more than 4,000 jobs.

“There’s been a lot of talk about tech,” said Dr. Gerald Cohen, chief economist at the Kenan Institute during a media briefing held virtually last Friday. “I want to point out that we are seeing some slowing in tech employment, but it is still growing, up 10,000 this month, and around the same the previous months.”

Another report indicates a slowdown: The most recent CompTIA Tech Jobs Report found that the number of tech job openings slowed in September, meaning that the sector may in fact be slowing.

Recently, there has been news that Meta and Google, among others, have slowed hiring and have begun to make cuts. They’re not alone.

Noted Cohen, the data released by the Bureau and Labor Statistics doesn’t list job growth within “technology.”

“The Triangle has a particularly interesting dilemma, because we have many of these companies in the tech sector moving into the area,” said Cohen. “If these companies decide that they are not coming into the region, that could be a big negative.”

Here’s the latest, from this week’s edition of the WRAL TechWire Layoff Watch which tracks job cuts news dating back to July.

These 40 Triangle companies are looking to fill 4,000 jobs – here’s where to find work

October layoffs

Oct. 7: Impossible Foods is making layoffs, again, with an estimated 50 workers to get cut, according to SF Gate. That follows layoffs made earlier this year.
Oct. 6: Peloton will – again – lay off hundreds of workers in a move to “save” the company, according to its CEO
Oct. 6: Spotify will lay off less than 5% of its podcast staff, cancelling 11 original podcasts, according to a TechCrunch report
Oct. 6: The so-called “crypto winter” continues, as Crypto.com will lay off an undisclosed number of workers. Originally, a report from Ad Age suggested the layoffs could have impacted about 30% of the company’s remaining workforce, after it laid off more than 200 workers earlier in the year, but Tech in Asia reported on October 10 that the company said that was “inaccurate” despite Ad Age reporting that a spokesperson for the company did confirm there had been “targeted job reductions”

Built In (number unknown) and Homie (162) also have made cuts this month, notes CrunchBase.

Late September layoffs

Sept. 30: Google will shutter gaming studio Stadia
Sept. 30: Ashley Furniture shutting down Statesville, N.C., plant, with 111 affected workers
Sept. 30: Tech-enabled healthcare company Kepro laying off nearly 100 NC workers
Sept. 30: JPMorgan Chase is expanding in North Carolina and, according to Reuters, plans to hire some 2,000 workers. But that doesn’t mean CEO Jamie Dimon believes there’s not a recession coming. Instead, Dimon told WRAL last week that there is “probably” a recession on the way.
Sept. 29: Meta has enacted a hiring freeze, according to Bloomberg and Forbes, and engadget reports that CEO Mark Zuckerberg also told employees there could be further restructuring or layoffs
Sept. 28: SoftBank will cut 150 of the 500 workers employed by the Vision Fund, the venture capital arm of the company, Bloomberg reported
Sept. 28: DocuSign to lay off 671 workers, 9% of company, as housing market slows, SF Gate reports. A day earlier, Divvy Homes, a startup backed by venture capital firm Andreessen Horowitz and Tiger Global Management, laid off about 12% of workers, according to The Information.
Sept. 27: Which workers are most vulnerable to layoffs?

Layoffs taking bigger bite out of payrolls in NC, across US: Here’s the latest

More September layoffs

Sept. 26: Cuts at Goldman Sachs
Sept. 26: Cuts at Wells Fargo
Sept. 22 – Pink Energy will shut down operations, according to a letter sent to all employees that was obtained by WRAL News. This came hours after a 5 On Your Side report about the company and its difficulties, and following a notice of facility closure and layoffs sent to the North Carolina Department of Commerce on September 12.
Sept. 22 – Buy now, pay later company Klarna will make another round of layoffs, four months after the company cut its workforce by 10%, with the new cuts affecting fewer than 100 workers, according to a report from Sifted.
Sept. 22 – Even as Google looks to implement cost-cutting moves and its CEO wants employees to be more efficient and productive, it seeks to hire more than 200 workers in the Triangle.
Sept. 22 – Kittyhawk, the air taxi company backed by Google co-founder Larry Page, will shut down, though a joint project with Boeing will continue.
Sept. 21 – Job cuts still sweeping across technology sector, but Meta and Google aren’t likely to call such cuts layoffs, WRAL TechWire reported.
Sept. 20 – Real estate firm Compass, which is backed by Softbank to the tune of about $1 billion, will again make layoffs to its technology team, according to a report from Bloomberg News.
Sept. 19 – The number of open information technology jobs in North Carolina falls to an eight-month low, according to the latest data from NC TECH.

As threat of layoffs grows, which workers are the most vulnerable?

More companies making layoffs

Sept. 15 – Amazon confirms to WRAL TechWire that a Durham facility that employs some 400 workers is being shut down, and a spokesperson tells WRAL TechWire that the company does not intend to lay off any workers, as every employee will be given the opportunity to transfer to another Amazon facility. Meanwhile, a group of Amazon employees who work in a Garner facility continue efforts to form a union.
Sept. 14 – TRU Colors, a startup brewery in Wilmington, announced it would shut down, and serial entrepreneur and founder George Taylor explains why.
Sept. 14 – The cloud firm Twilio cuts 11% of workers and CEO Jeff Lawson explains why in a letter, noting that the company used an “Anti-Racist” lens in determining which employees would be laid off.
Sept. 12 – Coats American, Inc. will close a Hendersonville plant and lay off 51 workers by the end of November, according to a required legal notice sent by the company to the North Carolina Department of Commerce.
Sept. 12 – Pink Energy, a solar company headquartered in the Charlotte area, announced it would lay off 500 workers a few months after laying off 600 workers, with the CEO citing faulty equipment as the cause.

Pendo lays off about 5% of workforce, including workers in Raleigh

Early September layoffs

Sept. 8 – Avaya, with headquarters in Durham, announced it would reduce its workforce in order to lower costs to “position Avaya as a more agile and innovative organization,” the company’s new CEO told WRAL TechWire in a statement. The number of layoffs is not known; but the company allocated $11 million to be used to cover costs associated with laying off workers, as WRAL TechWire reported in August.
Sept. 7 – Pendo layoffs affect 45 workers, less than 5% of its workforce, with half of those layoffs occurring in the company’s Raleigh headquarters location. WRAL TechWire confirmed the layoffs on September 12.
Sept. 2 – The latest data on the employment situation in the United States showed that the pace of job growth slowed in August but the economy added more jobs than expected during the month, a preliminary total of 315,000, though the unemployment rate increased as more people began to look for work and the labor force participation rate increased as well.
Sept. 1 – Unemployment benefits claims fell, data showed.

UNC economist: More people joining labor force is key to a ‘soft landing’ for economy

August tech layoffs

Here’s a list of some of the layoffs that may affect North Carolina workers that occurred in August:

Aug. 31 – Snapchat lays off about 20% of its global workforce of 6,400 workers.
Aug. 29 – Keter, US, Inc. will lay off 68 workers in Stanley “due to changing business needs at the facility.”
Aug. 29 – 67 employees at UNC Rockingham Hospital in Eden face job loss
Aug. 29 – Pandemic ‘winners’ including Peloton, Wayfair, Netflix, Zoom… are now losers
Aug. 26 – Novartis to close Wilson plant, affecting 240 workers.
Aug. 25 – Better, which has an office in Charlotte, makes its fourth round of layoffs in 2022 according to TechCrunch. Those four rounds of layoffs followed a mass layoff of 900 workers via a Zoom meeting in December 2021.
Aug. 25 – Outdoor furniture manufacturer Keter will lay off 68 workers from a Gaston County facility, according to a notice filed with the North Carolina Department of Commerce.
Aug. 25 – Amazon will shut down the hybrid virtual and in-home care service, Amazon Care
Aug. 25 – Fewer Americans filed for unemployment benefits than the prior week, but the four-week average rose, the Associated Press reported.
Aug. 22 – Ford announces layoffs of 3,000 white collar workers, CNN Business reported.

Troubled tech firm Avaya – HQ in Durham – is laying off workers

More August layoffs

Aug. 22: NC TECH releases July 2022 IT Job Trends report, showing a significant drop in tech job openings month-over-month
Aug. 19: Wayfair making layoffs globally
Aug. 16: Centene cancels investment plans for a $1 billion campus in Charlotte
Aug. 14 – Arrival confirms to WRAL TechWire that the company has laid off 35 workers in Charlotte following a corporate restructuring impacting about 30% of global employees announced earlier this year.
Aug. 12 – Peloton announces additional job cuts, after laying off workers earlier this year
Aug. 11 – Layoffs announced in Johnston County and Pitt County, through the North Carolina Department of Commerce WARN report
Aug. 9 – GoHealth announced 800 layoffs, including 140 in the Charlotte area, a spokesperson confirmed to WRAL TechWire on August 16

NC’s economy takes a $1B hit in project cancellation – fifth announced this year

Even more August tech layoffs

Aug. 4 – Robinhood will make layoffs of 23% of its workforce, a few months after slashing 9% of workers. This includes laying off 82 workers in Charlotte and closing the company’s office facility there, at which it had promised to hire nearly 400 workers not more than 18 months ago
Aug. 4 – Walmart will cut 200 corporate jobs, according to a CNN report
Aug. 4 – Jobless benefit applications are again on the rise, according to the U.S. Labor Department, which is a sign that more layoffs are occurring
Aug. 2 – Job openings have plummeted since the last monthly survey, according to the data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics, the lowest since September 2021
Aug. 1 – Oracle reportedly to lay off thousands of workers

NC tech leaders grow more pessimistic about economy; 17.5% have implemented hiring freeze

Layoffs announced in July

July 29 – Cargo services firm in Charlotte cutting 154 workers
July 27 – The latest survey results from NC TECH show that 1.6% of surveyed companies have laid off, considered making layoffs, or furloughed workers, and another 17.5% have already implemented a hiring freeze.
July 27 – Automaker Rivian will lay off about 6% of its workforce, the founder and CEO sent in an email to employees (TechCrunch report.)
July 26 – Layoffs at Shopify, with approximately 10% of global workforce slashed

Layoffs still keep coming despite better-than-expected jobs report

Other reports, tech layoffs

More on layoffs announced earlier this year:

Invitae announced it planned to lay off as many as 1,000 workers globally and Arrival, with a North American headquarters in Charlotte, announced it could cut 30% of its staff in the coming months. They’ll be making additional announcements in the coming weeks.
Microsoft, which as recently as last month, told WRAL TechWire that it was hiring for hundreds of positions locally in the Triangle, has now also announced that it will cut hundreds of jobs. The firm is still hiring in North Carolina, according to the latest WRAL TechWire Jobs Report, though it does shows a drop off in the number of openings locally at the firm compared to earlier this year.
Peloton, which had something of its own pandemic boom and bought a North Carolina company previously, announced it would no longer manufacture its own stationary exercise bicycles, and would lay off some 600 workers. (Editor’s Note: This was the first announcement from Peloton; the second announcement came later in the summer.)
And Biogen, which has a big presence in RTP, announced layoffs in a move to reduce costs last month, as well.
Durham technology startup Adwerx announced it would lay off 40 workers, citing “macroeconomic uncertainty.”