High-tech companies are announcing layoffs in droves, from Google andto Boston-based Wayfair. The titans of the last hiring boom say they are preparing for a slower economy and unwinding some of their massive growth from the pandemic years.
It's a theme playing out across the technology sector. Mark Zandi, chief economist at Moody’s Analytics, said the layoffs are in part a hangover from the tech industry’s recent hiring. Still, the numbers of tech layoffs mean upheaval for tens of thousands of workers — from Microsoft, Twitter, Facebook parent Meta, Salesforce and many other companies. Google’s parent, Alphabet, on Friday said it would cut 12,000 jobs, or 6% of its workforce. It's not clear yet how any of the Boston area locations for these companies will be affected., more than 155,000 tech workers were laid off in 2022. Another 55,300 have been announced already this year.