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These are the retail and tech companies that have slashed jobs
Major corporations in the media, retail and technology sectors have conducted mass layoffs to trim costs as they invest in AI, and after bulking up workforces during the pandemic. High interest rates are also contributing to layoffs at tech companies, in particular.
A number of companies across sectors kicked off 2024 by announcing they are slashing jobs on the heels of worker layoffs at the end of 2023. Experts say investments in AI could be a contributor, but aren’t exclusively to blame. Here’s a list of companies that are reducing head counts.
Technology
In mid-January, Alphabet-owned Google laid off hundreds of workers on its hardware, voice assistance and engineering teams to cut costs, citing a focus on “responsibly investing in our company’s biggest priorities and the significant opportunities ahead,” the company said in a statement at the time.
Alphabet CEO Sundar Pichai has warned employees to brace for even more layoffs amid the company’s push to move ahead in the artificial intelligence arms race. The cuts are designed to free up funds for “investing in… [the company’s] big priorities” according to a memo sent to employees.
One year earlier, Google announced it would cut 12,000 jobs, or about 6% of its workforce, to trim costs after going on a hiring spree during the pandemic.
“Over the past two years we’ve seen periods of dramatic growth,” Alphabet CEO Sundar Pichai wrote in a blog post at the time. “To match and fuel that growth, we hired for a different economic reality than the one we face today.”
Microsoft
In an internal memo last week, Microsoft announced 1,900 job cuts in its gaming division, the Associated Press reported. The cuts represent about 8% of its total gaming workforce.
Riot Games
Popular video game “League of Legends” developer Riot Games cut 530 jobs, or 11% of its staff in January to allow the company to move “toward a sustainable future,” according to a memo sent to staff.
“This decision is critical for the future of Riot. This isn’t to appease shareholders or to hit a quarterly earnings number — it’s a necessity,” the company said in a statement on January 22 .
TikTok
Social media app TikTok, owned by tech giant ByteDance, laid off 60 advertising and sales workers this month, as part of a routine reorganization, according to the company.
Amazon-owned companies
The Amazon-owned audiobook and podcast service Audible slashed 100 employees, or 5% of its workforce, amid cuts in other Amazon divisions, including Prime Video. The e-commerce giant’s streaming and studios unit also cut hundreds of jobs amid a shifting video consumption landscape and after Amazon acquired MGM studios.
Salesforce
Salesforce in January shed 7,350 workers, or 10% of its workforce, amid industrywide cost-cutting measures. The San Francisco-based cloud computing company also said it would close some of its offices to save on real estate costs.
“The environment remains challenging and our customers are taking a more measured approach to their purchasing decisions,” said CEO Marc Benioff in a letter to employees. “With this in mind, we’ve made the very difficult decision to reduce our workforce by about 10%, mostly over the coming weeks.”
Retail
eBay
The online e-commerce firm announced it will cut 1,000 jobs, or roughly 9% of its full-time workforce, in an effort to better match the company’s pace of growth in a slowing economy.
REI
The outdoor apparel and equipment retailer is laying off 357 workers, with most of the job cuts affecting workers at its headquarters and at its distribution center, on the heels of four quarters of declines.
Levi’s
Denim clothing maker Levi Strauss & Co. last week said it’s planning to cut 10% to 15% of its 19,100-person workforce in the first quarter of the year to cut costs and streamline operations. This and other cost-cutting measures are expected to generate net cost savings of $100 million in the current fiscal year, the company said.
Macy’s
Chronically underperforming department store Macy’s has struggled to keep up with consumers’ shifting preference for shopping online, leading to financial struggles that made worker layoffs necessary.
Last week, the iconic retailer signaled it would lay off 3.5%, or roughly 2,350 of its employees, and close five of its stores to slash costs as part of “a new strategy to meet the needs of an ever changing consumer and marketplace,” the company told the AP last week.
Wayfair
In the first month of the year, online furniture retailer Wayfair announced a 13% workforce reduction after hiring too ambitiously. In a letter to employees, CEO Niraj Shah said the company would eliminate 1,650 jobs in order to remain profitable after going “overboard with corporate hiring during COVID.”
— The Associated Press contributed to this report
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Long before comic book characters dominated movie screens, actor Christopher Reeve made the world believes in superheroes with the 1978 classic “Superman.”
Reeve died in 2004, nearly a decade after an accident re-shaped his life. “Super/Man: The Christopher Reeve Story” is using interviews with family and friends and never-before-seen home videos to explore his real-life heroism.
Reeve started his career on the stage, studying at the prestigious Juilliard School and living with comedian Robin Williams. The pair had a friendship that was “more like a brotherhood,” said Reeve’s son Matthew. Reeve was in awe of Williams’ energy and versatility, Matthew Reeve said, but audiences quickly clued into Reeve’s own star power when he took on the role of the Man of Steel.
Warner Bros. Pictures / Getty Images
To his children, though, he “was just dad,” Matthew Reeve said. The documentary explores how Matthew Reeve and his sister Alexandra Reeve Givens grew up watching their dad take the stage as Superman. “Super/Man” also reveals their heartbreak over their parents’ breakup and the joy they found when Reeve re-married. He tied the knot with Dana Reeve in 1992, and the pair welcomed another child, William Reeve, later that year.
“Dana was sunshine,” Alexandra Reeve Givens recalled. “She just brought joy with her wherever she was and could find it even in the darkest moments.”
Those dark moments came suddenly, when in 1995, a near-fatal horseback riding accident left Reeve paralyzed from the neck down. The documentary allows viewers to see, for the first time, what went on out of the public’s view. Reeve can be heard talking about how he “ruined (his) life and everybody else’s,” but in a touching moment, old friend Robin Williams is seen visiting him in the hospital.
“Robin showed him ‘Hey, you’re still you,'” Alexandra Reeve Givens said. “‘You still have this foundation of friendship and people around you, who adore you. And you’re going to find those fun moments in life again.'”
That support from friends and family re-ignited Reeve’s legacy of activism. He made appearances at the Democratic National Convention and the 68th Academy Awards in 1996, about a year after the accident. Matthew Reeve said watching his father address his industry peers at the Oscars was “one of (his) most proud moments.”
“It was just a production for him to get out of bed every morning, let alone get across the country and go out in public for the first time,” Matthew Reeve said. “It was a big deal. It was a big deal to him, but it was also a big deal to the entire disability community. We stayed up in London till like three in the morning to watch that live. It’s a fond memory.”
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Reeve also went on to launch what would become the Christopher and Dana Reeve Foundation, which is dedicated to advancing research into spiral cord injury and help individuals and families impacted by paralysis. It was his dad’s mission to find a cure, Matthew Reeve said, while his stepmother wanted to focus on improving the lives of paralyzed people and their families. The foundation and Reeve’s platform helped bring unprecedented attention and funding to spinal cord injury research.
Reeve even kept acting and realized his lifelong dream of directing with the 1997 HBO movie “In the Gloaming.” Reeve died in 2004 from heart failure at 52.
“There is a huge amount of great actors and actresses out there, where their filmography might be amazing and what they achieve on a cultural level might be amazing, but have they actually achieved anything really as a human that moves the needle for our society?” said filmmaker Ian Bonhote, who made the documentary with Peter Ettedgui. “And Chris has done both things.”
“Super/Man: The Christopher Reeve Story” will open in theaters on Friday, Oct. 11.
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