After Amazon, Microsoft, and Google cut thousands of jobs in multiple departments during the first two weeks of 2024, hundreds of Indian workers were left in a worsening job market.

In the past two weeks, Google has made hundreds of job cuts in its Voice Assistant and Hardware departments. Fitbit’s co-founders, James Park and Eric Friedman, have also been let go.

HumaneAI, an artificial intelligence company backed by Microsoft, cut four percent of the entire staff just before launching their first product – a voice-controlled, hands-free AI pin.

Google confirmed on Wednesday that it had laid off hundreds of engineers and hardware workers to reduce costs and focus more on artificial intelligence.

Amazon announced the same day that it was cutting some positions in its Prime Video and MGM Studios entertainment divisions. Twitch is a video game streaming company owned and operated by Amazon. It also announced that it would be laying off 500 employees.

After a massive hiring spree during the first years of the pandemic, startups and Big Tech firms have been firing tens of thousands of workers as higher interest rates make it more expensive to invest in new projects.

Following a massive hiring frenzy during the first year of the pandemic’s outbreak, startups and big tech companies have fired tens of thousands of employees. Higher interest rates are making it more costly to invest in new projects, and the companies want to increase profitability rather than focus on growth.

Google’s cuts continue previous layoffs, which have affected teams such as its Waze navigation application, Google News, and new employee recruitment.

“During the second half of 2023, many of our teams have made changes to be more efficient, work better, and align their resources with their top product priorities.

Chris Pappas is a Google spokesperson. “Some teams continue to make organizational changes of this kind,” he said. “We are investing responsibly in the company’s top priorities and the opportunities that lie ahead.”

Google has spent billions of years building hardware to compete with Apple on the smartphone and smartwatch market and Amazon on home devices. However, the division could be more significant in comparison to its core businesses of advertising and search.

Amazon and Google have made a few cuts this week. Still, they differ in how many employees the companies will be laying off in 2022 or 2023. Amazon announced that it would lay off around 27,000 employees starting at the end of 2022 and continuing until 2023.

Google will cut about 12,000 jobs, or 6 percent of their workforce, in January 2023. Meta, Facebook’s parent company, announced it would cut 11,000 jobs by the end of 2022, or about 13 percent of the workforce.

The layoffs shook Silicon Valley. They ended an era in which tech workers believed they could move from one high-paying position to another every few years. The funding for startups also dropped.

Investors are pouring money into AI startups. Big Tech companies have put off their plans to cut spending to hire more AI researchers and buy more computer processors to capitalize on consumer interest in this new technology.

In a Wednesday letter to staff, Mike Hopkins, Senior Vice President of Prime Video and Amazon MGM Studios, said, “Our industry is evolving quickly, and we must prioritize our investments to ensure the long-term viability of our business.”

Indian Startups Face Significant Layoffs

Paytm, a payment platform, was the first Indian firm to announce layoffs in 2024. It fired around 1,000 employees, or 10 percent of the entire workforce. The cost-cutting measure is part of the ongoing realignment.

Flipkart, an e-commerce company, is also considering a 5-7 percent cut in its workforce. This would be around 1500 people. Layoffs will be expected because of the subdued performance of the company’s finances.

Reuters reported in early February that Amazon was considering laying off hundreds from its Prime division. Many of these people could be remote Indian employees in the Customer Service department.

Google announced on Wednesday that it would be making job cuts in its Voice Assistant, Engineering, and Hardware departments. Fitbit’s entire staff and hundreds of Pixel and Nest employees will be laid off under the new restructuring plan.

Is AI Real Villain?

Artificial intelligence (AI) has been called the “boogeyman” of the employment market in the past decade. However, most job cuts at IT and tech companies are not due to AI’s ability to replace jobs.

HumaneAI, one of the most promising AI companies, also experienced layoffs in 2018 despite its projected profits following its AI pin launch. These job cuts result from cost-cutting and the economic slowdown in Western countries.

Inflation has eaten away at the profits of large companies. They have tightened their performance evaluations, opted for hiring freezes, and, as a final resort, laid off a portion of their workforce.

Google Sends Pink Slips Out To Hundreds Of Employees

Google laid off hundreds of workers in its various divisions on Wednesday to cut costs and focus more on artificial intelligence. The job cuts affected the core engineering division, Google Assistant, and hardware divisions responsible for Pixel phones, Fitbit watches, and Nest thermostats,

Google stated that most hardware cuts affected a team working on augmented reality. This technology blends the real world with digital overlays.

The New York Times reviewed a text in which the company informed some division employees that their positions were being eliminated.