Take Cover, It’s Raining Layoffs: Twitter, Meta, and others on a Layoff Spree!

I’m not sure how job seekers would respond if they got an offer from an Elon Musk-run company, especially Gen Zs who have little to zero tolerance for mental mishaps at the workplace. It’s giving PTSD vibes from the ongoing controversies, as “Elon Musk” is fast becoming a synonym for lay-offs just as it’s been a synonym for “Wealth”. 

Twitter lays off employees as Elon Musk takes over

On Friday, 4th of November, 2022, Twitter got us wondering what was happening within its workspace. The controversy was this: Elon Musk finally took ownership, and now it’s raining layoffs at Twitter.  About 3,700 Twitter workers were laid off after a general mail was sent to workers giving heads up about the impending change. 

Remember that similar events happened with Tesla earlier this year when workers were laid off due to economic reasons. Of course, Musk’s actions were met with a class-action lawsuit for not giving employees prior and adequate notice and violating their rights. Twitter workers won’t want to be treated how Tesla workers were treated. 

However, Musk defended his actions saying: axed employees received a three-month payment from the company, which is losing more than $4m a day. 

It gets interesting now some workers have been called back, with Musk claiming that they were laid off by mistake.  But what is even more dramatic is that this layoff-demic is not exclusive to Twitter. 

Meta, Microsoft, Intel, and others join the list

I’d do it in a list;

1. Meta layoffs: This week, Meta announced that it will be laying off thousands of its employees. 

   • Microsoft Layoffs: Microsoft also recently joined the list of tech firms to cut down its staff strengths 

   • Intel Layoffs: Another 20% bout of layoffs is brewing from Intel this week

   • Snapchat Layoffs: Snapchat cut down its staff number by 20%

   • Amazon’s Hiring Freeze: Amazon has announced a hiring freeze

   • Apple’s Hiring Freeze: Like Amazon, Apple has paused hiring at the moment 

   • Many more layoffs had happened since the beginning of 2022, like Netflix. 

   • Take cover, your company might be next! 

Okay, breathe. The last one isn’t true, but who knows? Globally, it’s a hard time for startups and tech giants as the economy have been dwindling recently. And if top guns in the system could be affected, then younger companies may not be safe. This is not me being paranoid, but it’s the workplace and there are times when drastic measures have to be taken to keep brands in place.

But do founders always make the best decisions in times like this? Like the case of Elon Musk and Twitter. 

Why companies are cutting down staff number

I will cue in from a newsletter excerpt published CareerBuddy published earlier in the year on this same topic:

“Economic deflation is not new to the world. Over the years, companies have had to learn from previous episodes to develop a thriving mechanism. And the truth is, most times, employees are at the end of these coping measures; they’re either overworked, have their salaries trimmed, or are laid off. 

We may choose the companies we work for, but we don’t get to decide what happens in the long run–except you’re in the executive cadre of course. Even the bosses sometimes are at the mercy of trajectories and industrial foresight. So, anything could happen at any time. 

However, while there are layoffs, there are also several poachings and tons of quality job offers going out daily. So, while you work to earn your company the unicorn status, remember to build up yourself so much that you become the Cinderella whose feet only fits the glass slippers, the hottest cake in the job market”. 

For Twitter workers, fingers are crossed for the next moves. And for other tech companies around the world, the onus lies on the global economy to return to its feet. 

Read this: What to do after getting fired.