The big picture: Many tech companies made record profits during the pandemic, prompting them to increase investments and rapidly expand their staff. However, amid growing concerns about the global recession, more and more companies have recently announced mass layoffs affecting thousands of employees.
In the first three weeks of this year, more than 100,000 technology industry workers lost their jobs. A new report shows that severance packages vary greatly from one tech giant to another.
On Friday, Alphabet, Google’s parent company, announced the layoffs of 12,000 employees, representing about 6% of its global workforce. According to a statement from the Securities and Exchange Commission, severance pay for American employees includes 16 weeks of salary and accelerated transfer of shares, as well as an additional two weeks for each year of work at the company. The dismissed employees will also receive their bonuses for 2022, paid leave and six months of medical care.
At the beginning of the year, Amazon confirmed that it plans to lay off a record 18,000 employees, which is about 1.2% of the total number of employees. Retail workers in the United States will receive full wages and benefits during the mandatory 60-day notice period without having to continue working. The company will also offer severance pay for several weeks, severance pay, temporary health benefits, as well as employment.
Meta CEO MarkZuckerberg announced last year that the company would cut more than 11,000 jobs worldwide, representing about 13 percent of its workforce. The dismissed employees were promised a severance package of 16 weeks, as well as two additional weeks for each year of service. The company said it would also cover their health insurance for six months and offer RSU vesting, career services, remaining paid leave and immigration support for employees with visas.
Salesforce recently announced it would lay off more than 7,000 employees, and CEO Marc Benioff suggested that younger remote workers may be to blame for the company’s declining productivity. The severance package includes at least five months of salary, six months of health insurance and two months of termination support.
Twitter CEO Elon Musk originally planned to cut staff numbers by 50 percent after he took over last year, although many chose to leave rather than stick to the new “hardcore” work culture. Musk later claimed that all those who quit were offered a three-month severance package.
