According to a survey released on Thursday, layoffs in the US reached a more than two-year high in January as technology companies shed staff at the second-fastest rate ever as they prepare for a potential downturn.
According to the research from employment company Challenger, Gray & Christmas, the layoffs affected 1,02,943 workers, a more than two-fold increase from December and a more than five-times hike from a year earlier.
Companies from Microsoft to Amazon.com and Goldman Sachs Group cut thousands of jobs last month in a bid to ride out a demand downturn as consumer and corporate spending shrinks due to high inflation and rising interest rates.
According to a survey released on Thursday, job cuts at technology companies reached the second-highest rate ever in January as they prepared for a potential recession. This brought layoffs in the US to a more than two-year high.
According to the Challenger, Gray & Christmas research, 1,02,943 employees were affected by the layoffs, a more than two-fold increase from December and a more than five-fold increase from a year earlier.
In an effort to weather a demand slowdown as consumer and corporate spending decreases as a result of high inflation and rising interest rates, businesses ranging from Microsoft to Amazon.com and Goldman Sachs Group slashed thousands of positions last month.
Companies that increased employment during the past few years "will likely reduce their workforce as the economy moves toward a difficult period," according to OANDA analyst Edward Moya.