Google, Citigroup Lead New Wave of Layoffs

Google has once again announced layoffs from its workforce, this time cutting about 100 jobs from its recruiting sector. 

“We unfortunately need to make a significant reduction to the size of the recruiting organization,” Google Recruiting Vice President Brian Ong said in an employee meeting, as reported by CNBC.

The company will also decrease hiring in the succeeding months. "Given the base of hiring that we’ve received the next several quarters, it’s the right thing to do overall," Ong added.

In January, the tech giant announced that it would cut 12,000 jobs, joining the rest of the industry hit by the economic recession.

“We continue to invest in top engineering and technical talent while also meaningfully slowing the pace of our overall hiring,” Google spokesperson Courtenay Mencini explained.

Citigroup Cuts Jobs As Part of Reorganization

Similarly, investment banking conglomerate Citigroup will also cut jobs and remove a layer of management as it seeks to strengthen income and streamline work processes.

Citigroup CEO Jane Fraser told investors that the company will have to take "hard, consequential, and tough" decisions, arguing that they won't be "universally popular."

"It's going to make some of our people very uncomfortable. I am absolutely fine with that... It is the right thing to do for our shareholders," she added.

In light of the reorganization, division heads will report straight to Fraser, with regional leadership roles reduced significantly. The number of employees impacted by the decision wasn't unveiled. 

2023 Experiences Most Brutal Layoff Count

In 2023, the job market faced its harshest challenge yet with the most severe wave of layoffs since the 2007-2008 financial crisis.

As of September 2023, over 234,900 employees have been laid off from over 1,000 tech companies, according to Layoffs.fyi. Google topped the other companies in terms of the most layoffs, making up roughly 5% of the total figure.

In comparison, 2022 saw an estimated 164,000 job cuts from over 1,000 tech companies, with Meta leading the charge by cutting about 11,000 jobs.

In a surprising turn of events, the tech giant laid off an additional 10,000 people in 2023 as part of its "Year of Efficiency."

Edited by Nikola Djuric