Microsoft, Amazon and other tech companies have laid off more than 60,000 employees in the last year
Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella speaks at the company’s Ignite Spotlight event in Seoul on Nov. 15, 2022.
SeongJoon Cho | Bloomberg | Getty Images
The job cuts in tech land are piling up, as companies that led the 10-year bull market adapt to a new reality.
Microsoft said Wednesday that it’s letting go of 10,000 employees, which will reduce the company’s headcount by less than 5%. Amazon also began a fresh round of job cuts that are expected to eliminate more than 18,000 employees and become the largest workforce reduction in the e-retailer’s 28-year history.
The layoffs come in a period of slowing growth, higher interest rates to battle inflation, and fears of a possible recession next year.
Here are some of the major cuts in the tech industry so far. All numbers are approximations based on filings, public statements and media reports:
Microsoft: 10,000 jobs cut
Microsoft is reducing 10,000 workers through March 31 as the software maker braces for slower revenue growth. The company also is taking a $1.2 billion charge.
“I’m confident that Microsoft will emerge from this stronger and more competitive,” CEO Satya Nadella announced in a memo to employees that was posted on the company website Wednesday. Some employees will find out this week if they’re losing their jobs, he wrote.
Amazon: 18,000 jobs cut
Earlier this month, Amazon CEO Andy Jassy said the company was planning to lay off more than 18,000 employees, primarily in its human resources and stores divisions. It came after Amazon said in November it was looking to cut staff, including in its devices and recruiting organizations. CNBC reported at the time that the company was looking to lay off about 10,000 employees.
Amazon went on a hiring spree during the Covid-19 pandemic. The company’s global workforce swelled to more than 1.6 million by the end of 2021, up from 798,000 in the fourth quarter of 2019.
Alphabet (Verily): 230 jobs cut
Google parent company Alphabet had largely avoided layoffs until January, when it cut 15% of employees from Verily, its health sciences division. Google itself has not undertaken any significant layoffs as of Jan. 18, but employees are increasingly growing worried that the ax may soon fall.
Crypto.com: 500 jobs cut
Crypto.com announced plans to lay off 20% of its workforce Jan. 13. The company had 2,450 employees, according to PitchBook data, suggesting around 490 employees were laid off.
CEO Kris Marszalek said in a blog post that the crypto exchange grew “ambitiously” but was unable to weather the collapse of Sam Bankman-Fried’s crypto empire FTX without the further cuts.
“All impacted personnel have already been notified,” Marszalek said in a post.
Coinbase: 2,000 jobs cut
On Jan. 10, Coinbase announced plans to cut about a fifth of its workforce as it looks to preserve cash during the crypto market downturn.
The exchange plans to cut 950 jobs, according to a blog post. Coinbase, which had roughly 4,700 employees as of the end of September, had already slashed 18% of its workforce in June saying it needed to manage costs after growing “too quickly” during the bull market.
“With perfect hindsight, looking back, we should have done more,” CEO Brian Armstrong told CNBC in a phone interview at the time. “The best you can do is react quickly once information becomes available, and that’s what we’re doing in this case.”
Salesforce: 7,000 jobs cut
Salesforce is cutting 10% of its personnel and reducing some office space as part of a restructuring plan, the company announced Jan. 4. It employed more than 79,000 workers as of December.
In a letter to employees, co-CEO Marc Benioff said customers have been more “measured” in their purchasing decisions given the challenging macroeconomic environment, which led Salesforce to make the “very difficult decision” to lay off workers.
Salesforce said it will record charges of $1 billion to $1.4 billion related to the headcount reductions, and $450 million to $650 million related to the office space reductions.
Meta: 11,000 jobs cut
Facebook parent Meta announced its most significant round of layoffs ever in November. The company said it plans to eliminate 13% of its staff, which amounts to more than 11,000 employees.
Meta‘s disappointing guidance for the fourth quarter of 2022 wiped out one-fourth of the company’s market cap and pushed the stock to its lowest level since 2016.
The tech giant’s cuts come after it expanded headcount by about 60% during the pandemic. The business has been hurt by competition from rivals such as TikTok, a broad slowdown in online ad spending and challenges from Apple’s iOS changes.
Twitter: 3,700 jobs cut
Lyft: 700 jobs cut
Lyft announced in November that it cut 13% of its staff, or about 700 jobs. In a letter to employees, CEO Logan Green and President John Zimmer pointed to “a probable recession sometime in the next year” and rising ride-share insurance costs.
For laid-off workers, the ride-hailing company promised 10 weeks of pay, health care coverage through the end of April, accelerated equity vesting for the Nov. 20 vesting date and recruiting assistance. Workers who had been at the company for more than four years will get an extra four weeks of pay, they added.
Stripe: 1,100 jobs cut
Online payments giant Stripe announced plans to lay off roughly 14% of its staff, which amounts to about 1,100 employees, in November.
CEO Patrick Collison wrote in a memo to staff that the cuts were necessary amid rising inflation, fears of a looming recession, higher interest rates, energy shocks, tighter investment budgets and sparser startup funding. Taken together, these factors signal “that 2022 represents the beginning of a different economic climate,” he said.
Stripe was valued at $95 billion last year, and reportedly lowered its internal valuation to $74 billion in July.
Shopify: 1,000 jobs cut
In July, Shopify announced it laid off 1,000 employees, which equals 10% of its global workforce.
In a memo to staff, CEO Tobi Lutke acknowledged he had misjudged how long the pandemic-driven e-commerce boom would last, and said the company is being hit by a broader pullback in online spending. Its stock price is down 78% in 2022.
Netflix: 450 jobs cut
Netflix announced two rounds of layoffs. In May, the streaming service eliminated 150 jobs after the company reported its first subscriber loss in a decade. In late June, it announced another 300 layoffs.
In a statement to employees, Netflix said, “While we continue to invest significantly in the business, we made these adjustments so that our costs are growing in line with our slower revenue growth.”
Snap: 1,000 jobs cut
In late August, Snap announced it laid off 20% of its workforce, which equates to over 1,000 employees.
Snap CEO Evan Spiegel told employees in a memo that the company needs to restructure its business to deal with its financial challenges. He said the company’s quarterly year-over-year revenue growth rate of 8% “is well below what we were expecting earlier this year.”
Robinhood: 1,100 jobs cut
Retail brokerage firm Robinhood slashed 23% of its staff in August, after cutting 9% of its workforce in April. Based on public filings and reports, that amounts to more than 1,100 employees.
Robinhood CEO Vlad Tenev blamed “deterioration of the macro environment, with inflation at 40-year highs accompanied by a broad crypto market crash.”
Tesla: 6,000 jobs cut
In June, Tesla CEO Elon Musk wrote in an email to all employees that the company was cutting 10% of salaried workers. The Wall Street Journal estimated the reductions would affect about 6,000 employees, based on public filings.
“Tesla will be reducing salaried headcount by 10% as we have become overstaffed in many areas,” Musk wrote. “Note this does not apply to anyone actually building cars, battery packs or installing solar. Hourly headcount will increase.”
A customer holds up the new orange-colored iPhone 17 Pro Max smartphone inside an Apple retail store in Chongqing, China, on September 19, 2025.
Cheng Xin | Getty Images News | Getty Images
The iPhone 17 hit store shelves worldwide on Friday, drawing lines from Beijing to London.
But beyond the launch buzz, Apple is under pressure to prove itself, grappling with questions over its artificial intelligence plans, as well as increasing competition.
Products on display for the first time include the iPhone 17 Pro, iPhone 17 Pro Max, and iPhone Air, as well as new Apple Watch and AirPods models.
While they were available for preorders in the U.S. from Sept. 12, the global launch holds particular significance as Apple takes on growing competition in overseas markets.
China competition
One of those markets is China, where customers waited for hours — and even overnight — to get their hands on the new iPhone
First in line at the Apple flagship Store in Sanlitun, Beijing, this morning, was Liu — he did not wish to be identified by his full name — who told CNBC that he had been queuing since 11 p.m. local time Thursday for his chance to pick up the iPhone 17 Pro Max.
A customer shows off his new iPhone 17 at Apple’s Regent Street store on Sept. 19.
Arjun Kharpal | CNBC
He said he was excited about the smartphone’s new color and exterior design, which Apple says has improved the phone’s heat dissipation.
Notably, Liu also said he has changed to Apple from Huawei in recent years, saying he preferred the iPhone for daily use and entertainment.
Another person, who wished to be identified only by his surname, Yang — an erstwhile Xiaomi user — said he had been waiting to get his hands on the latest iPhone, preferring its operating system.
Both Liu and Yang expect many Chinese residents to buy their first iPhone this year due to the new features, including larger internal storage.
If that trend were to pan out, it would be welcome news for Apple, which has lost market share in China to players such as Huawei and Xiaomi.
After years of leadership in the region, the iPhone-maker now only holds 10% of the Chinese smartphone market, trailing local players like Oppo, Huawei, Xiaomi and others, according to data from Omdia.
Apple’s latest iPhone models are shown on display at its Regent Street, London store on the launch day of the iPhone 17.
Arjun Kharpal | CNBC
So far, the signs are positive for the iPhone 17 series in China. Last Friday, JD.com — one of China’s largest ecommerce platforms — saw the first minute of iPhone 17 series preorders surpass the first-day preorder volume of last year’s iPhone 16 series, the company reported.
At 10 a.m. local time on Friday, JD.com said that iPhone 7 trade-in sales were four times higher than the same period last year.
Other markets
In the much smaller but affluent market of Singapore, the redesigned iPhone 17s were also met with fervor, with long lines forming outside Apple outlets across the city.
Iman Isa and Daniel Muhamed Nuv, two young professionals in Singapore, both queued for hours at Apple’s outlet in the city’s iconic Marina Bay mall to buy iPhone 17 Pros, which they said were their first new phones in years.
Citing the fresh design, longer battery life and improved camera, they said the new phones offer enough to keep them loyal to the Apple ecosystem.
Based on preorder times and consumer feedback, the initial global demand for the iPhone 17 series appears largely positive, said Le Xuan Chiew, a research manager at Omdia.
The iPhone 17 base model in particular has outperformed expectations, as the pricing at launch remained unchanged from its predecessor despite upgrades in memory storage, Chiew said.
In Singapore, customers arriving at Apple outlets had also been looking to nab some of the company’s new AirPods Pro 3, citing the product’s live translation feature as a major selling point.
In London, lines were notably longer than they were at last year’s launch of the iPhone 16, and customers appeared more interested in the premium offerings — the Pro and Pro Max models — this time around.
People lined up outside Apple’s Regent Street, London store on Sept. 19 to get their hands on the latest iPhone 17.
Arjun Kharpal | CNBC
“For the last five years, I’ve been in a pattern of constantly upgrading my phone, because every year Apple is bringing something new to the table,” one customer, Jasmine, said. “I just love having that experience of Apple every year.”
Meanwhile, Michael, who described himself as a content creator, said he was drawn by the battery and camera.
“I thought about going for the [iPhone] Air, but I just don’t know whether or not the battery is going to be able to hold up. And that single camera? I don’t know, it’s just a little bit off-putting on the back,” he said of Apple’s thin iPhone 17 offering.
Apple intelligence
A successful iPhone 17 launch could help reassure Apple investors after a somewhat underwhelming rollout of its artificial intelligence features, which began late last year.
Speaking to CNBC’s “Squawk Box Europe” last week, Ben Wood, chief analyst at CCS Insight, lauded Apple’s latest product launches but said the company now needed to deliver on artificial intelligence.
“There is no question that Apple needs to deliver on AI,” he said, noting that the company had “dropped the ball” last year by making big promises that failed to materialize.
“Apple has to catch up [in AI], but right now, I think they’ve got enough runway to be able to cope in the intervening period.”
– CNBC’s Eunice Yoon contributed to this report
Technology
Nvidia just spent over $900 million to hire Enfabrica CEO, license AI startup’s technology
Co-founder and chief executive officer of Nvidia Corp., Jensen Huang attends the 9th edition of the VivaTech trade show in Paris on June 11, 2025.
Chesnot | Getty Images Entertainment | Getty Images
Nvidia has just shelled out over $900 million to hire Enfabrica CEO Rochan Sankar and other employees at the artificial intelligence hardware startup, and to license the company’s technology, CNBC has learned.
In a deal reminiscent of recent AI talent acquisitions made by Meta and Google, Nvidia is paying cash and stock in the transaction, according to two people familiar with the arrangement. The deal closed last week, and Enfabrica CEO Rochan Sankar has joined Nvidia, said the people, who asked not to be named because the matter is private.
Nvidia has served as the backbone of the AI boom that began with the launch of OpenAI’s ChatGPT in late 2022. The company’s graphics processing units (GPUs), which are generally purchased in large clusters, power the training of large language models and allow for big cloud providers to offer AI services to clients.
Enfabrica, founded in 2019, says its technology can connect more than 100,000 GPUs together. It’s a solution that could help Nvidia offer integrated systems around its chips so clusters can effectively serve as a single computer.
A spokesperson for Nvidia declined to comment, and Enfabrica didn’t provide a comment for this story.
While Nvidia’s earlier AI chips like the A100 were single processors slotted into servers, its most recent products come in tall racks with 72 GPUs installed working together. That’s the kind of system inside the $4 billion data center in Wisconsin that Microsoft announced on Thursday.
Nvidia previously invested in Enfabrica as part of a $125 million Series B round in 2023 that was led by Atreides Management. The company didn’t disclose its valuation at the time, but said that it was a fivefold increase from its Series A funding.
Late last year, Enfabrica raised another $115 million from investors including Spark Capital, Arm, Samsung and Cisco. According to PitchBook, the post-money valuation was about $600 million.
Tech giants Meta, Google, Microsoft and Amazon have all poured money into hiring top AI talent through deals that resemble acquihires. The transactions allow the companies to bring in top engineers and researchers without worrying about the regulatory hassles that come with acquisitions.
The biggest such deal came in June, when Meta spent $14.3 billion on Scale AI founder Alexandr Wang and others and took a 49% stake in the AI startup. A month later, Google announced an agreement to bring in Varun Mohan, co-founder and CEO of artificial intelligence coding startup Windsurf, and other research and development employees in a $2.4 billion deal that also included licensing fees.
Last year, Google made a similar deal to bring in the founders of Character.AI. Microsoft did the same thing for Inflection, as did Amazon for Adept.
While Nvidia has been a big investor in AI technologies and infrastructure, it hasn’t been a significant acquirer. The company’s only billion-dollar-plus deal was for Israeli chip designer Mellanox, a $6.9 billion purchase announced in 2019. Much of Nvidia’s current Blackwell product lineup is enabled by networking technology that it acquired through that acquisition.
Nvidia tried to buy chip design company Arm, but that deal collapsed in 2022 due to regulatory pressure. In the past year, Nvidia closed a $700 million purchase of Run:ai, an Israeli company whose technology helps software makers optimize their infrastructure for AI.
On Thursday, Nvidia announced one of its most sizable investments to date. The chipmaker said it’s taken a $5 billion stake in Intel, and announced that the two companies will collaborate on AI processors. Nvidia also said this week that it invested close to $700 million in U.K. data center startup Nscale.
— Correction: A prior version of this story mistakenly included the name of a company as an investor in Enfabrica.
CrowdStrike logo is seen in this illustration taken July 29, 2024.
Dado Ruvic | Reuters
CrowdStrike shares popped about 13%, a day after the cybersecurity firm issued better-than-expected long-term guidance at its investor day.
The company on Wednesday said it expects net new annual recurring revenues to grow at least 20% in 2027, ahead of analysts’ expectations. CrowdStrike plans for ARR to hit $10 billion by 2031, and then double to $20 billion by 2036.
Earlier this week, the firm said it was buying AI security platform Pangea and announced a partnership with Salesforce.
“CrowdStrike is by far the most advanced security platform in the industry, and the plethora of AI-based solutions announced today will further separate CrowdStrike from the competition,” wrote Wells Fargo analyst Andrew Nowinski in a note following the event.
Some Wall Street firms also boosted their price targets.
Cybersecurity has taken center stage this year as businesses beef up security in the age of artificial intelligence. Many companies have harnessed AI tools to strengthen their offering as threats rise in sophistication.
This year’s biggest tech deals have included Google’s $32 billion acquisition of Israeli cybersecurity startup Wiz and Palo Alto Networks’ $25 billion CyberArk deal.
Cybersecurity firm Netskope hit the public market Thursday, while Thoma Bravo-backed SailPoint debuted earlier this year.
During its recent earnings report, CrowdStrike’s revenue guidance for the third quarter fell short of analysts’ expectations.
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