Hundreds of software companies laid off employees throughout the last two years as the low interest rate era came to an end. Beginning in 2023, Alphabet, the parent company of Google, eliminated 12,000 positions, or around 6% of its total staff worldwide. More than 10,000 workers, or around 13% of Meta's workforce, were let go. Likewise, well-known brands like Disney, Microsoft, and Amazon did. A website that analyses job cuts in the tech sector, Layoffs.fyi, reports that over 260,000 tech workers were let go in 2023. This month, Google just revealed additional layoffs. Because several executives felt uncomfortable calling someone "laid off," many of them used ambiguous language when having such conversations.
"The term 'rightsizing' sounds more neutral," said Roger Lee, creator of Layoffs.fyi, adding that the phrase is also used "to convey the fact that these companies did a lot of hiring the past couple years, and now realize, given the current economic reality, it makes sense for the business to go back to a smaller size."