By Zaheer Kachwala, Harshita Mary Varghese, Samrhitha Arunasalam, Arsheeya Bajwa, Priyanka.G and Jaspreet Singh
(Reuters) – Several U.S. and Canadian companies, mostly in sectors such as technology and media, have kicked of the year with job cuts, as they look to keep a lid on costs in an uncertain economy.
Here is a rundown of layoffs announced so far in 2024:
TECHNOLOGY
* Amazon’s job cuts include less than 5% of employees at Buy with Prime unit, 5% at audiobook and podcast division Audible, several hundred in streaming and studio operations, 35% at streaming unit Twitch and a few hundred at healthcare units One Medical and Amazon Pharmacy.* Layoffs at Alphabet include dozens at division for developing new technology X Lab, hundreds in advertising sales team, hundreds across teams, including hardware team responsible for Pixel, Nest and Fitbit, and a majority in augmented reality team.
* Microsoft is cutting around 1,900 jobs at gaming divisions Activision Blizzard and Xbox.
* IBM plans to lay off some employees in 2024, but will hire more for AI-centered roles.* E-commerce firm eBay plans to cut about 1,000 roles, or around 9% of its current workforce.
* Videogame software provider Unity Software to cut about 25% of workforce, or 1,800 jobs.
* DocuSign plans to reduce its current workforce by about 6%, or 400 employees, with majority of layoffs in its sales and marketing organizations.
* Snap plans to cut around 528 jobs, or 10% of its global workforce.
* Salesforce is laying off about 700 employees, or roughly 1% of its global workforce. * Network giant Cisco is planning to restructure its business which will include laying off thousands of employees. * Autonomous vehicle technology company Aurora Innovation lays off 3% of its workforce.
MEDIA
* Walt Disney’s Pixar Animation Studios is set to cut jobs as the studio has completed production on some shows and has more staff than it needs.
* Comcast-owned British media group Sky plans to cut about 1,000 jobs across its businesses this year.
* The Los Angeles Times plans to lay off 94 journalists who belong to the newspaper’s union.
* Paramount Global is planning to conduct unspecified number of layoffs.
* Business Insider plans to lay off around 8% of its staff.
* Bell Canada plans to slash 4,800 jobs.
FINANCIAL SERVICES
* PayPal Holdings is planning to cut about 2,500 jobs, or 9% of its global workforce this year.
* Payments firm Block Inc has started to cut unspecified jobs as part of its previously disclosed plans.
* Citigroup is planning to reduce its headcount by 20,000 people over the next two years.
* Exchange operator Nasdaq plans to slash hundreds of jobs as it integrates fintech firm Adenza into its business.
* World’s largest asset manager BlackRock is set to cut about 3% of its current workforce, though it expects to have a larger headcount by the end of 2024.
CONSUMER AND RETAIL
* Cosmetics giant Estee Lauder plans to cut 3% to 5% of its global workforce.
* Wayfair plans to lay off 1,650 employees, or about 13% of its workforce.
* U.S. department store chain Macy’s is cutting 2,350 jobs and closing five stores.
* Levi Strauss & Co is planning to slash 10% to 15% of global corporate jobs.
* Hershey is planning a restructuring plan that will impact less than 5% of its workforce.
HEALTH
* Novavax is cutting about 12% of total workforce.
MANUFACTURING
* Defense contractor Lockheed Martin is planning to cut 1% of its jobs.
* United Parcel Service plans to cut 12,000 jobs in a bid to cut $1 billion costs after a bumpy year.
NATURAL RESOURCES
* U.S. miner Piedmont Lithium cuts 27% of its workforce as part of a cost-cutting plan.
