Amazon tech layoffs roll on -2-

"What we know is market conditions continue to erode with an uncertain future," he said in the message. "The steps we've taken to stay ahead of downturn impacts -- which enabled several strong quarters in a row -- are no longer enough. We now have to make additional decisions to prepare for the road ahead."

He added: "Unfortunately, with changes like this, some members of our team will be leaving the company. There is no tougher decision, but one we had to make for our long-term health and success."

Okta

Okta Inc. (OKTA) said it will cut its global workforce by 5%, or approximately 300 employees, as the software maker adjusts to the current macroeconomic reality. "A workforce reduction like this is the last thing I wanted to do, and I am truly sorry," Okta CEO Todd McKinnon wrote in an early February email to employees.

"We entered fiscal 2023 with a growth plan based on the demand we experienced in the prior year," the CEO said. "This led us to overhire for the macroeconomic reality we're in today."

Now read: Okta CEO says layoffs were 'the last thing I wanted to do' as company cuts 300 jobs

McKinnon also highlighted "execution challenges" that Okta has faced. "I wish I had responded sooner, but we're doing the best we can today to adjust to this reality," he said.

In a filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission, Okta said it will incur approximately $15 million in restructuring charges in the fourth quarter of fiscal 2023 for future cash employee severance and benefits costs, which primarily will be paid in the first quarter of fiscal 2024.

Splunk

Splunk Inc. (SPLK) said it will lay off about 4% of its staff, or about 325 employees, amid cutbacks in the software industry.

In a letter to employees, Splunk CEO Gary Steele said that the cuts will be mostly in North America. "This decision is another step in a broader set of proactive organizational and strategic changes that include optimizing our processes, cost structure and how we operate globally to ensure Splunk continues to balance growth with profitability through these uncertain times and drive success over the long term," he wrote.

Also read: Splunk to lay off 4% of its staff in latest sign of software cutbacks

In an SEC filing, Splunk estimated that it would incur approximately $28 million in charges and future cash expenditures related to its reorganization plan. Splunk expected the plan to be completed, and to book "substantially all" the associated charges and cash expenditures, in the first quarter of fiscal year 2024.

PayPal

PayPal Holdings Inc. (PYPL) said it was cutting its global workforce by approximately 2,000 full-time employees, or 7% of the company's total workforce. Chief Executive Dan Schulman announced the layoffs in an email to employees. "These reductions will occur over the coming weeks, with some organizations impacted more than others," he wrote.

"While we have made substantial progress in right-sizing our cost structure, and focused our resources on our core strategic priorities, we have more work to do," Schulman said in the email. "We must continue to change as our world, our customers, and our competitive landscape evolve."

Also see:PayPal to lay off 7% of employees as part of cost-cutting push

PayPal said it will continue to hire "strategically" this year, spokeswoman Amanda Miller told MarketWatch.

In August, PayPal announced a cost-cutting initiative, saying it was targeting at least $1.3 billion in cost savings during 2023.

IBM

International Business Machines Corp. (IBM) said it was cutting 1% to 1.5% of its workforce. The cuts would amount to about 3,900 employees, IBM Chief Financial Officer James Kavanaugh said in an interview with Bloomberg, which was the first to report the job cuts.

Related:IBM posts biggest annual sales increase in more than a decade, announces layoffs

The layoffs were not mentioned on the conference call to discuss IBM's fourth-quarter results. A spokesman said the cuts were mostly related to a spinoff and the sale of IBM's Watson Health unit, resulting in a $300 million charge in the first quarter.

SAP

SAP (SAP.XE) said it would be cutting almost 3,000 jobs amid a restructuring effort. When it announced its fourth-quarter results, the business-software maker said it was undertaking a "targeted" restructuring in 2023 focused on strategic growth areas and "accelerated cloud transformation."

Also read: SAP to cut nearly 3,000 Jobs, weighs Qualtrics stake sale

The restructuring program would affect some 2,800 employees. At the end of 2022, the Walldorf, Germany-based company had 111,961 employees globally.

Lam Research

Silicon Foundry-equipment supplier Lam Research Corp. (LRCX) said it will cut its global workforce by 7%, or 1,300 employees, by the end of March. The cuts did not include a separate reduction to Lam Research's "temporary workforce" that saw 700 people being let go at the end of December.

Now read: Lam Research to trim 7% of workforce, increase R&D spending as memory-chip crunch hits outlook

The cuts came as Lam Research reported its results for the quarter ending Dec. 22, 2022. "Given the decline in wafer fabrication equipment spending expected in calendar year 2023, we are taking proactive steps to lower our cost structure and drive efficiencies across our global footprint, while preserving critical R&D," said CEO Tim Archer in a statement. "With these actions, Lam is focused on accelerating our strategic priorities to capitalize on the semiconductor industry's long-term growth prospects."

Spotify

In a filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission, Spotify Technology (SPOT) said it would reduce its workforce by about 6%, which translated to about 588 jobs.

Bloomberg News originally reported that the streaming music service was planning job cuts. At the end of the third quarter, Spotify had 9,808 full-time employees globally.

The Stockholm-based company estimated that it would incur approximately EUR35 million to EUR45 million ($38.1 million to $48.9 million) in severance-related charges.

Now read: Spotify to lay off nearly 600 employees

The job cuts came after Spotify slowed its pace of hiring in 2022. Last June, Spotify CEO Daniel Ek told employees that the company would reduce its hiring by 25%, according to Bloomberg and CNBC reports. Spotify laid off at least 38 employees at its Gimlet and Parcast podcast units in October.

In recent years, Spotify has spent massive amounts on podcasts, which has weighed on the company's margins. The podcast spending has yet to deliver profits, although last year Ek predicted a meaningful increase in profitability in the next couple of years.

In its SEC filing, Spotify said that, as part of a broader reorganization, the company's chief content and advertising business officer, Dawn Ostroff, would depart.

Google

Google parent Alphabet Inc. (GOOGL)(GOOGL) has announced plans to cut approximately 12,000 jobs globally. In a blog post, Alphabet and Google CEO Sundar Pichai described the layoffs as "a difficult decision to set us up for the future."

"The fact that these changes will impact the lives of Googlers weighs heavily on me, and I take full responsibility for the decisions that led us here," he added.

Like a number of other tech giants that have made layoffs recently, such as Microsoft Corp. (MSFT) and Meta Platforms Inc. (META), Alphabet expanded to meet demand during the pandemic era but was confronted with a different economic situation, Pichai said. "Over the past two years we've seen periods of dramatic growth. To match and fuel that growth, we hired for a different economic reality than the one we face today."

Now read: Google parent Alphabet planning to cut 12,000 jobs globally

At the end of September 2022, Alphabet had almost 187,000 employees, up from almost 164,000 employees at the end of March.

"As an almost 25-year-old company, we're bound to go through difficult economic cycles," Pichai said. "These are important moments to sharpen our focus, re-engineer our cost base, and direct our talent and capital to our highest priorities."

Echoing recent comments from Microsoft, Pichai also highlighted the importance of artificial intelligence. "Being constrained in some areas allows us to bet big on others," he said. "Pivoting the company to be AI-first years ago led to groundbreaking advances across our businesses and the whole industry."

Read: Google looks to shed 10,000 'poor-performing' workers: report

The CEO said that the company was getting ready to share "some entirely new experiences" for users, developers and businesses. "We have a substantial opportunity in front of us with AI across our products and are prepared to approach it boldly and responsibly," he added.

A 2022 report in The Information said that Google was considering cutting 10,000 jobs. The company was also looking into employing a ranking system that would eliminate the lowest-ranked "poor-performing" employees, the report said.

"Earlier this year, we launched Googler Reviews and Development (GRAD) to help employee development, coaching, learning and career progression throughout the year," a Google spokesperson told MarketWatch in a statement at the time. "The new system helps establish clear expectations and provide employees with regular feedback."

Intel

Intel Corp. (INTC) announced it was slashing hundreds of jobs in Silicon Valley. The cuts added to layoffs that began late last year as part of previously announced job cutting.

According to filings with California's Employment Development Department, the chipmaker planned to cut 201 jobs at its offices in Santa Clara, Calif., which is home to Intel's headquarters, effective Jan. 31. In late December, Intel reported 90 job cuts, during which the company confirmed that it also has put some manufacturing employees on unpaid leave.

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03-27-23 0916ET

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