The tech jobs bloodbath shows no sign of abating

A couple weeks ago, my colleague Kylie Robison wrote in this newsletter about the flurry of tech layoffs that marred the start of this year. Wedbush analyst Dan Ives told her more may be coming and, well, it was. Here’s a list of the job cuts that have already been revealed just in the first two days of this week (so, not even counting Wayfair’s laying off of 1,650 employees, which took place last Friday):

—EBay announced yesterday that it would say farewell to around 1,000 people, or 9% of its workforce. It blamed a “challenging” economic environment and said the aim was to “align and consolidate certain teams to improve the end-to-end experience, and better meet the needs of our customers around the world.” Investors cheered, sending shares up 4%.

—Kylie broke the news yesterday that Brex was laying off 282 people, or 20% of its workforce. The fintech firm’s CEO, Pedro Franceschi, told workers it was trying to become “a high-velocity company,” adding the now-familiar refrain that “we grew our org too quickly.”

—SAP said yesterday that around 8,000 roles (7% of its workforce) would be “restructured” in a new tilt towards AI, though it’s not yet clear how many of these people will sign up for buyouts and how many will be re-skilled and internally redistributed (this is a German company we’re talking about, so negotiations loom). The business software giant said it “expects to exit 2024 at a headcount similar to current levels.” Shares rose 7% to a record high on the news.

—Vroom announced Monday that it was axing its entire e-commerce business and its used-vehicle dealership business, to focus on its automotive finance operation and AI-powered services for car retailers. That means the loss of around 800 workers, or 90% of the workforce. This one is an attempt to stave off bankruptcy; the whole online used-vehicle business is in trouble.

—League of Legends publisher Riot Games is shedding 530 people, or 11% of the workforce. The Tencent unit’s CEO, Dylan Jadeja, told staffers Monday that Riot was trying to “create focus and move us toward a more sustainable future.” The teams running the Legends of Runeterra title and the Forge division, which publishes indie games, will be hit particularly hard. Again, the whole gaming sector is seeing big cuts these days.

—Alphabet, which has already been cutting like crazy this month, is laying off dozens of workers at its X Lab “moonshot” division. Bloomberg reported Monday that X Lab CEO Astro Teller wrote a memo explaining that the unit was “expanding our approach to focus on spinning out more projects as independent companies funded through market-based capital.”

—TikTok has cut around 60 roles, as NPR first reported Monday. The sales and advertising divisions are bearing the brunt of the cuts, though CNBC reported yesterday that the company said those affected “may apply to any open internal roles, of which there are over 120 similar roles posted currently.”

—Seedrs is pulling out of Spain and Sweden, with around 15 people (or 15% of its European workforce) losing their jobs, Sifted reported yesterday. The Republic-owned crowdfunding platform blamed “challenging market conditions” for the startup fundraising sector over the last 18 months.

Analysts reckon the start of 2023 was worse, but that’s cold comfort to those getting hit now. Sincere commiserations to all affected. More news below.

David Meyer

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This story was originally featured on Fortune.com