As large technology companies prioritize investment in the field of artificial intelligence and recruit heavily, other fields will face layoffs one after another, and this situation may continue until the end of 2024.
For example, large technology companies such as Google and Amazon are heavily betting on artificial intelligence while reducing investments in non strategic areas. According to the layoff tracking platform Layoffs. fyi, since 2024, 82 technology companies have released layoff plans, resulting in over 20000 technology employees losing their jobs.
Dan Ives, Managing Director of Wade Bush, said in an interview, "As this artificial intelligence technology continues throughout the technology industry, large technology companies will continue to lay off employees in certain areas, and the recruitment frenzy in the field of artificial intelligence will be unprecedented."
Increase investment in the AI field
According to the latest news, Microsoft will lay off 1900 employees in its video gaming division, including Activision Blizzard, which completed its acquisition for $69 billion at the end of last year. Microsoft Gaming Business Director Phil Spencer wrote that the layoffs this time account for approximately 8% of Microsoft's 22000 gaming department employees.
Spencer pointed out, "We have identified priorities together, identified overlapping areas, and ensured consistency in our best growth opportunities."
Earlier this month, Google cut hundreds of jobs to improve efficiency and focused on its "most important product priorities" to catch up with its competitor Microsoft. Microsoft previously integrated ChatGPT into Bing search, which prompted Google to add artificial intelligence features to its search engine.
Last week, Google CEO Sandal Pichai wrote in a memo sent to employees on January 17th that as the company continues to shift investments towards artificial intelligence, there will be more layoffs this year.
He also added that the management is preparing to share its artificial intelligence goals for 2024, "The reality is that to create capability for this investment, we must make difficult choices."
Amazon, which has been heavily investing in artificial intelligence, also had a wave of layoffs earlier this month. Amazon has laid off hundreds of employees in its video streaming and other departments, and has also reduced the number of employees in its Twitch live streaming platform and Audible audiobook division.
Mike Hopkins, head of business at Amazon Prime and Studios, said, "The company has identified opportunities to reduce or stop investments in certain areas, while seeking to increase spending on some of the most impactful content and product projects."
It is worth mentioning that Amazon Web Services (AWS), the cloud services business of this e-commerce giant, announced on January 19 that it may invest 2.26 trillion yen ($15.24 billion) in Japan by 2027 to expand cloud computing infrastructure, which is key to artificial intelligence services.
Enterprise software giant SAP announced on Tuesday (January 23) a € 2 billion restructuring plan involving up to 8000 positions, accounting for approximately 7% of the total workforce.
The company hopes to leverage large-scale restructuring to better focus on the growth of artificial intelligence driven business areas. The company promises to invest over $1 billion to open up new areas in AI driven technology startups through its corporate capital company Sapphire Ventures.
In addition, e-commerce platform eBay announced a 9% layoff, social media platform Discord announced a 17% layoff, gaming service provider Unity Software announced a 25% layoff, and language learning application Duolingo announced a 10% layoff of regular employees.