Retailers added a seasonally adjusted 17,400 jobs in Dec. (according to the most recent BLS report) which hopefully will provide a soft landing for the thousands being laid-off from high-paying tech jobs.
From Bloomberg
EBay to Cut 1,000 Jobs, Reduce Contractors to Sharpen Focus
Company announces second workforce reductions in the past year
E-commerce site has been losing market share to bigger rivalsEBay Inc. will cut about 1,000 jobs, or 9% of its full-time employees, and reduce work for outside contractors, saying staffing and expenses have outpaced growth. . . .
From WSJ
Microsoft Cuts 8% of Videogaming Staff
Layoffs follow company’s acquisition of Activision Blizzard in October
Microsoft is laying off about 8% of its videogaming staff, cuts that largely reflect redundancies from its October acquisition of Activision Blizzard.
Roughly 1,900 employees will be affected, said Phil Spencer, chief executive of Microsoft Gaming, in a company email Thursday reviewed by The Wall Street Journal. The layoffs mostly represent Activision employees and constitute less than 1% of Microsoft’s total workforce, a spokesman said. . . .
From WSJ
Salesforce Laying Off 700 Workers in Latest Tech-Industry Downsizing
Cuts will affect around 1% of company’s workforce and follow 10% reduction last year
Salesforce is laying off around 700 employees across the company in the latest round of layoffs to hit the tech industry, said a person familiar with its plans.
The layoffs comprise around 1% of the roughly 70,000-person company that makes cloud-based customer-relationship management software. One year ago, it cut 10% of its workers or around 8,000 employees, amid pressure from investors to reduce costs. . . .
I dunno. The Microsoft layoffs probably don’t mean much but it could be part of something bigger.
https://www.wsj.com/tech/microsoft-layoffs-videogaming-staff-4cc124c7
