Palantir joins growing list of tech companies announcing layoffs
By James Rogers
More than 119,000 global technology-sector employees have been laid off since the beginning of 2023
Palantir Technologies Inc. has joined Twilio, Zoom, eBay, Okta, Splunk, PayPal, IBM, SAP, Spotify, Alphabet, Intel, Microsoft, Coinbase, Cisco, Amazon, Salesforce, HP, Roku, Beyond Meat, Meta and Twitter in announcing major layoffs in recent months.
More than 119,000 global technology-sector employees have been laid off since the start of 2023, according to data compiled by the website Layoffs.fyi.
Here's a look at the list of big names across a number of sectors that have been cutting back their workforces.
Palantir
Data-analytics company Palantir (PLTR) is planning to cut less than 2% of its workforce, part of the latest round of technology layoffs.
Related: Palantir to cut less than 2% of staff as tech layoffs continue
"We believe our company is at an inflection point and to continue to evolve, we are making the tough choice of reducing teams in several areas," a Palantir spokesperson told MarketWatch. "While less than 2% of our workforce is impacted by these changes, these are incredibly painful decisions but the right ones for the company's future."
According to its most recent 10-K filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission, the software company had 3,838 employees as of Dec. 31.
Twilio
Communications-software company Twilio Inc. (TWLO) disclosed in mid-February that it will lay off about 17% of its workforce. Based on the company's latest annual report, that would suggest that more than 1,300 employees will be laid off.
The layoffs come amid a restructuring effort at Twilio. In a letter to employees, Twilio CEO Jeff Lawson said the company was forming two business units, Twilio Communications and Twilio Data and Applications. "When we look at these two business units on their own, it's clear that we've gotten too big, especially in Communications," Lawson wrote. "And that's why we're also letting go of some colleagues today."
Related: Twilio to lay off 17% of its employees to cut costs, while providing upbeat Q4 guidance
This is the second round of layoffs at the company, following cuts announced in September. "At that time, we sought to streamline the company as it was then structured," Lawson said. "Today's news, however, is more driven by the need to organize ourselves differently for success -- and the changes needed to enact this new structure."
Twilio said it expects to record charges of $100 million to $135 million related to the layoffs, mostly in the first quarter of 2023.
Affirm
Last week, buy-now-pay-later company Affirm Holdings Inc. (AFRM)announced plans to cut 19% of its staff, as the company reported weaker-than-expected second-quarter results and outlook.
Related:Affirm stock tanks after earnings whiff, as company plans to lay off 19% of staff
"Over the last three quarters, the Fed increased its benchmark rate at an unprecedented pace," Affirm CEO Max Levchin said in a message to employees. "This has already dampened consumer spending and increased Affirm's cost of borrowing dramatically. The root cause of where we are today is that I acted too slowly as these macroeconomic changes unfolded."
Affirm had 2,552 employees as of June 30, 2022, according to its latest 10-K filing.
Zoom
Zoom Video Communications Inc. (ZM) announced in early February that it would lay off approximately 15% of its workforce, or around 1,300 people.
In a Feb. 7 blog post, Zoom CEO and founder Eric Yuan pointed to the company's rapid growth during the pandemic. "Our trajectory was forever changed during the pandemic when the world faced one of its toughest challenges, and I am proud of the way we mobilized as a company to keep people connected," he wrote. "To make this possible, we needed to staff up rapidly to support the quick rise of users on our platform and their evolving needs."
Within 24 months, Zoom tripled in size, according to Yuan.
"We worked tirelessly and made Zoom better for our customers and users," he wrote, but he added that the company also made mistakes. "We didn't take as much time as we should have to thoroughly analyze our teams or assess if we were growing sustainably, toward the highest priorities."
Now read:Zoom's stock jumps on news that company will lay off 15% of staff and cut executive pay
The chief executive said the uncertainty of the global economy, and its effect on customers, have prompted Zoom to take "a hard -- yet important -- look inward to reset ourselves so we can weather the economic environment."
Yuan said that he is reducing his salary for the coming year by 98% and forgoing his corporate bonus for fiscal year 2023. Members of the company's executive leadership team will reduce their salaries by 20% for the coming fiscal year while also forfeiting their bonuses, he added.
Zoom had been one of the pandemic's tech winners as people worked from home, but the company has struggled of late as workers return to the office.
EBay Inc. (EBAY) announced plans to cut about 4% of its staff -- or some 500 employees.
"Over the past few months, we've taken a thoughtful look at where we are as a company with considerations of the macroeconomic situation around the world and how to best invest and operate so that we can continue to be successful," said eBay CEO Jamie Iannone in a Feb. 7 filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. "To create long-term, sustainable growth for eBay, we need to evolve our organization as we take the next step in our strategy -- focused on driving growth, building a trusted marketplace, empowering enthusiasts and seeding new technologies for the future."
Related:eBay to lay off 500 employees, about 4% of its workforce
The company said the cuts would allow it to concentrate on areas where it could make the biggest impact, according to Iannone. "Importantly, this shift gives us additional space to invest and create new roles in high-potential areas -- new technologies, customer innovations and key markets -- and to continue to adapt and flex with the changing macro, e-commerce and technology landscape," he wrote. "We're also simplifying our structure to make decisions more effectively and with more speed."
Dell
Dell Technologies Inc. (DELL) announced plans to cut approximately 5% of its workforce.
The company announced the layoffs in a filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission in early February, citing "a challenging global economic environment."
The tech giant had 133,000 employees as of Jan. 28, 2022, according to its last 10-K filing. If the company's staffing has remained at that level, the layoffs would affect 6,650 employees.
Also read: Dell to cut staff by 5% as 'conditions continue to erode'
In a message to employees that was also filed with the SEC, Jeff Clarke, Dell's vice chair and co-chief operating officer, described a series of changes the company is making around global sales and services, which he said will make the company more nimble and provide a "better structure" for the future.
"What we know is market conditions continue to erode with an uncertain future," he said in the message. "The steps we've taken to stay ahead of downturn impacts -- which enabled several strong quarters in a row -- are no longer enough. We now have to make additional decisions to prepare for the road ahead."
He added: "Unfortunately, with changes like this, some members of our team will be leaving the company. There is no tougher decision, but one we had to make for our long-term health and success."
Okta
Okta Inc. (OKTA) said it will cut its global workforce by 5%, or approximately 300 employees, as the software maker adjusts to the current macroeconomic reality. "A workforce reduction like this is the last thing I wanted to do, and I am truly sorry," Okta CEO Todd McKinnon wrote in an early February email to employees.
"We entered fiscal 2023 with a growth plan based on the demand we experienced in the prior year," the CEO said. "This led us to overhire for the macroeconomic reality we're in today."
Now read: Okta CEO says layoffs were 'the last thing I wanted to do' as company cuts 300 jobs
McKinnon also highlighted "execution challenges" that Okta has faced. "I wish I had responded sooner, but we're doing the best we can today to adjust to this reality," he said.
In a filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission, Okta said it will incur approximately $15 million in restructuring charges in the fourth quarter of fiscal 2023 for future cash employee severance and benefits costs, which primarily will be paid in the first quarter of fiscal 2024.
Splunk
Splunk Inc. (SPLK) said it will lay off about 4% of its staff, or about 325 employees, amid cutbacks in the software industry.
In a letter to employees, Splunk CEO Gary Steele said that the cuts will be mostly in North America. "This decision is another step in a broader set of proactive organizational and strategic changes that include optimizing our processes, cost structure and how we operate globally to ensure Splunk continues to balance growth with profitability through these uncertain times and drive success over the long term," he wrote.
Also read: Splunk to lay off 4% of its staff in latest sign of software cutbacks
In an SEC filing, Splunk estimated that it would incur approximately $28 million in charges and future cash expenditures related to its reorganization plan. Splunk expected the plan to be completed, and to book "substantially all" the associated charges and cash expenditures, in the first quarter of fiscal year 2024.
PayPal
PayPal Holdings Inc. (PYPL) said it was cutting its global workforce by approximately 2,000 full-time employees, or 7% of the company's total workforce. Chief Executive Dan Schulman announced the layoffs in an email to employees. "These reductions will occur over the coming weeks, with some organizations impacted more than others," he wrote.
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February 27, 2023 16:33 ET (21:33 GMT)
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