Tech Firms’ Layoffs Drop 42% in 2024, Meta Cuts 5% of Workforce”
Technology firms’ layoffs have decreased by 42% on an annual basis, as per data from the Layoffs.fyi website. In 2024, around 549 tech companies globally laid off 152,000 employees, a significant drop compared to the previous year when 1,193 firms reduced their workforce by 264,000 individuals. Since the pandemic’s onset in 2019, the website has tracked employment cuts in the tech industry.
Although layoffs continued in January 2025, the numbers remained relatively low. In total, 13 companies dismissed 1,390 workers this month, a sharp contrast to January 2023, when 90,000 workers were let go, and 34,000 were laid off in January 2024.
One notable instance of layoffs comes from Meta, the parent company of Instagram, Facebook, and WhatsApp, which announced it would reduce its workforce by about 5%. The cuts are part of a broader restructuring strategy aimed at refining performance management and hiring new employees to fill critical roles.
This decision also coincided with the company’s termination of diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) programs, as well as the cessation of its fact-checking initiative in the US. Meta’s decision to end its fact-checking program will lead to layoffs of its fact-checking partners, though the exact timeline for the shutdown remains unclear.
