In this article, we will be taking a look at the 20 biggest companies laying off in 2023. To skip our detailed analysis, you can go directly to see the 5 biggest companies laying off in 2023.
Layoffs are unfortunately a part of life, especially in today’s world, where cutthroat competition is higher than ever before, and investor demands are sky-high. In 2020, when the Covid-19 pandemic hit the world, most companies laid off a large percentage of their employees, especially in the travel industry, as travelling was more or less completely banned by most countries. In the U.S. alone, by April 2020, the number of people who were temporarily laid off increased by 16 million to 18 million, an unprecedented figure, and airlines particularly had to lay off tens of thousands of employees. Even now, despite tourism returning to almost pre-Covid numbers, the most profitable airlines in the world are struggling to turn over a profit.
However, after the economy picked up once the threat of Covid-19 diminished, workers gained more power and so began the Great Resignation, where employees started to voluntarily resign and look for better opportunities amid wage stagnation despite a cost of living increase. Now, most analysts believe that the tide from the Great Resignation has stemmed, and companies are once again more powerful, as seen by the biggest companies laying off in 2023.
A utility employee connecting wires at a power station in order to distribute electricity to customers.
It seems counterproductive for companies to lay off a significant number of their staff, especially when profitable, but that’s the trend we’ve been seeing, especially since 2022. This is especially true in the tech industry which ramped up hiring during the pandemic as tech companies boomed and their share price reached record highs, but immediately cut back when the going got tough in 2022. Some of the biggest tech companies in the world are also among the biggest companies laying off in 2023 and tens of thousands of headcount were cut by Meta Platforms, Inc. (NASDAQ:META) and Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT), not to mention Amazon.com, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMZN). However, considering the incredible share price rises most tech companies have seen, tech companies will likely start to increase hiring towards the end of 2023 and start of 2024, according to several analysts.
One of the main reasons behind companies resorting to layoffs is the traditional idea that is saves money in the long run. Undoubtedly, salaries and wages are one of the biggest expenses of any company, especially those operating in the retail or consultancy segments but also in areas such as tech and finance. So if a company’s turnover is low and its operating profit isn’t close to hitting analyst expectations or targets, companies decide to layoff staff. While this does have short-term benefits including of course direct savings, the intangible adverse effects of layoffs can more than offset these savings, such as loss of knowledge, bad publicity, higher turnover and cost of training a new employee. Also, in today’s world where corporations are starting to be held more accountable for their decisions, mass layoffs are inviting even more scrutiny for such companies. The destruction of trust for a company can have extremely negative consequences, and in 2022, more than 85% of respondents to Edelman’s 2022 Trust Barometer stated that job loss was their biggest concern.
While 2023 hasn’t been as bad as 2022, some of the biggest companies laying off in 2023 have continued unimpeded, with media companies and tech companies making up the majority of those announcing layoffs. For example, in September 2022, Comcast Corporation (NASDAQ:CMCSA) announced that it would reduce spending of $1 billion from traditional TV and reallocate part of it to streaming and other growing services. However, Comcast Corporation (NASDAQ:CMCSA) layoffs in 2023 have been negligible. The reallocation seems to have worked at least to some extent with the company’s share price rising by nearly 17% YTD 2023 and is the biggest media company in the world right now.
Similarly, in 2022, Netflix, Inc. (NASDAQ:NFLX) saw a huge decline in its share price, resulting in the streaming company reducing its workforce by nearly 4%. While Netflix, Inc. (NASDAQ:NFLX) layoffs in 2023 weren’t significant enough to make our list of biggest companies laying off in 2023, it did lay off some executives in its drama and overall deals division. This was somewhat of an unexpected decision, as Netflix, Inc. (NASDAQ:NFLX) has seen its share price jump by over 50% YTD 2023.
Polen Focus Growth Strategy made the following comment about Netflix, Inc. (NASDAQ:NFLX) in its Q3 2023 investor letter:
“Netflix, Inc. (NASDAQ:NFLX) shares sold off after their CFO Spence Neumann spoke at a conference. He emphasized more than usual that the company’s prior long-term margin guidance, which called for 300+ basis points of operating margin per year on average, is no longer the expectation. We were neither expecting this level of margin expansion (and we do not believe many other investors were either), nor has the company delivered this level of margin expansion over the past two years. It seems market participants took Neumann’s tone on margins as a negative indicator of the company’s earnings momentum.
We believe that Netflix has plenty of room to expand operating margins from year to year, the magnitude of which will depend largely on annual revenue growth. We view Netflix’s share price weakness simply as an unfortunate reaction to the way Neumann communicated his margin views during the conference.
According to our research, Netflix is the only profitable streaming company of any significance in the world. We continue to expect that paid password sharing and ad-supported subscriptions will allow Netflix to be meaningfully larger and more profitable over the next five years than it is now. Future margin expansion will be more modest than in the recent past. Still, we also expect revenue growth to accelerate from monetizing borrowed passwords and advertisers seeking to buy time in Netflix’s high-value content.”
It might be shocking but just tech companies alone laid off more than 275,000 employees since the last one year according to Time, while also enjoying a significant increase in their share price. However, as we mentioned earlier, research has shown that layoffs actually negatively impact a company’s financial performance over a longer period of time. One such study in 2006 concluded that even if reductions in force are deemed necessary, financial performance continues to lag and further layoffs may be necessitated. This is why many of the biggest companies laying off in 2023 have taken part in multiple rounds of layoffs.
Methodology
To determine the biggest companies laying off in 2023, we headed over to layoff.com, which has comprehensive data on all layoffs declared and effected by companies across the world. We then filtered out layoffs which were effective in 2023. Some of the companies in our list declared bankruptcy in 2023, and hence, large heacdount cuts were necessary, but again, big tech layoffs have a major contribution.
20. Cisco Systems, Inc. (NASDAQ:CSCO)
Number of layoffs in 2023: 1,023
Cisco Systems, Inc. (NASDAQ:CSCO) is a digital communications company which has seen its share price increase by nearly 10% YTD 2023. Cisco Systems, Inc. (NASDAQ:CSCO) already laid off thousands of employees in 2022 and further layoffs in 2023 have continued.
19. Pactiv Evergreen Inc. Canton Paper Mill
Number of layoffs in 2023: 1,050
Pactiv Evergreen is one of the biggest fresh food and beverage packaging companies in North America, and hundreds of Canton Paper Mill workers received layoff notices earlier in the year.
17. Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc. (NYSE:TMO)
Number of layoffs in 2023: 1,069
Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc. (NYSE:TMO) is one of the most valuable healthcare companies in the world. In August 2023, it announced job cuts impacting several hundred people in Florida, and multiple layoff rounds in 2023. Overall, slowing demand has resulted in Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc. (NYSE:TMO) trying to reduce costs by over $450 million.
16. 3M Company (NYSE:MMM)
Number of layoffs in 2023: 1,100
3M Company (NYSE:MMM) is a major conglomerate which announced 8,500 job cuts in 2023. However, 1,100 of them are going to be effected in 2023. All in all, 3M Company (NYSE:MMM) expects the cost impact to be between $700 million to $900 million in pre-tax charges.
15. Twitter, Inc.
Number of layoffs in 2023: 1,132
Twitter has seen some of the biggest headcount cuts of any major tech company, with the headcount being reduced by around 80%. While most cuts took place in 2022 after Elon Musk took over and privatized the company, more cuts have also taken place in 2023.
14. Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM)
Number of layoffs in 2023: 1,151
Salesforce, Inc. (NYSE:CRM) was lauded in early 2020 when it refused to cut staff despite the pandemic, but seems to have reneged on its word since. While in January 2023, it did engage in layoffs, but is now looking to hire 3,300 people.
13. Matheson Flight Extenders, Inc.
Number of layoffs in 2023: 1,299
Matheson Flight Extenders operates in the warehouse and logistics industry, and is a contractor for the U.S. Postal Service. The company closed its sorting facility in Massachusetts recently, one of multiple moves reducing its headcount significantly.
12. Jabil Inc. (NYSE:JBL)
Number of layoffs in 2023: 1,391
Jabil Inc. (NYSE:JBL) is an American company which is among the biggest companies laying off in 2023. In 2023, Jabil Inc. (NYSE:JBL) announced a restructure of its business, resulting in significant headcount reductions and over $200 million in cost.
11. Intel Corporation (NASDAQ:INTC)
Number of layoffs in 2023: 1,403
Intel Corporation (NASDAQ:INTC) is one of the biggest semiconductor companies in the world and has been part of semiconductor layoffs in 2023, with its GPU and cloud software staff being impacted.
10. Rio Properties, LLC
Number of layoffs in 2023: 1,552
Rio Properties provides hotel services including swimming pool, golf club services, casinos and restaurants, and in August 2023, filed a WARN Act notice which mentioned 1,552 employees being impacted.
9. Bed Bath & Beyond
Number of layoffs in 2023: 2,293
Bed, Bath & Beyond announced bankruptcy in 2023, and its last store closed in July 2023. The company was already flirting with bankruptcy for a while; otherwise, layoffs in 2023 would have been much higher.
8. Tyson Foods, Inc. (NYSE:TSN)
Number of layoffs in 2023: 2,424
Tyson Foods, Inc. (NYSE:TSN) is one of the biggest food and beverage companies in the world. Between late 2023 and early 2024, Tyson Foods, Inc. (NYSE:TSN) will be closing four more chicken plants resulting in the reduction of around 3,000 jobs and will continue to be among the biggest companies laying off in 2023.
7. Amazon.com, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMZN)
Number of layoffs in 2023: 3,120
Amazon.com, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMZN) hired more than 100,000 workers globally after a massive increase in demand for online shopping during the pandemic, and now that demand growth isn’t as high, has engaged in multiple layoff rounds, cementing its place among the biggest companies laying off in 2023. Recently, Amazon.com, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMZN) announced further job cuts in its music streaming unit.
6. Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT)
Number of layoffs in 2023: 3,466
Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT) is one of the most valuable companies in the world, and yet has still been engaging in massive job cuts and in October 2023, announced further layoffs, despite multiple similar announcements already throughout 2023.
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Disclosure: None. 20 biggest companies laying off in 2023 is originally published at Insider Monkey.
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