Microsoft, Meta, Oracle Continue Scaling Back Their Workforces In The Age of AI

IBL News | New York

Microsoft and Meta Platforms are the latest major tech companies scaling back their workforces, dressing up layoffs as smart moves for the age of AI.

Layoffs affecting 45,800 tech employees were announced in March, the worst month for reported tech-job reductions in at least two years, according to the tracking site Layoffs.

• Meta will cut about 8,000 people from its workforce. Microsoft will trim its headcount with a “voluntary retirement program” available to about 7% of its U.S. employees.
• Oracle initiated major cuts in the past few weeks
• The financial-tech company Block, parent of Square and Cash App, announced a plan to cut 40% of its workforce, which amounts to more than 4,000 employees.

Layoffs are leading to a growing public perception that AI is a job killer. That might fuel a backlash that is already constraining AI, as more communities fight against the construction of massive data centers.

The median annual revenue per employee among tech companies on the S&P 500 is about $669,000, which is 14% higher than the median for the entire index, according to data compiled by S&P Global Market Intelligence.

The tech companies on the index with market capitalizations above $1 trillion average a little over $2 million in annual revenue per employee.