Airbnb has laid off 30 percent of its recruitment staff, according to a recent Bloomberg report.

The cuts affected 0.4 percent of its overall staff. They currently employ 6,800 people.

However, Airbnb still plans to increase its overall headcount this year. The company has predicted their workforce to increase by 2 to 4 percent this year

Previous job cuts

This is not the first time that the company has seen job cuts in recent days. During the pandemic, the holiday home rental site laid off a staggering 25 percent of its workforce as it struggled to battle the global travel restraints.

The big tech layoffs continue

In January, Spotify announced it will cut 6 percent of its workforce. The Swedish music-streaming giant has about 10,000 employees.

Spotify’s CEO, Daniel Ek, wrote: “In hindsight, I was too ambitious in investing ahead of our revenue growth.”

Similarly, on the 18th January, Microsoft announced 10,000 layoffs. Their CEO, Satya Nadalla said that the company will refocus on “secular growth and long-term competitiveness.”

ALEXIA PEDERSEN, VP OF EMEA AT O’REILLY

“Redundancies are not made lightly. Organisations are considering several factors and deciding to reduce costs given the current economic uncertainty, with forecasted numbers showing a reduced demand for services and products.

“The technology sector stands out because there has been a period of rapid acceleration in digital transformation over recent years. This was accentuated by the pandemic, as many businesses had to rapidly move to an online presence in a very short timeframe. New skill sets were hired, and employees were upskilled to help organisations transition. Some of these projects have now been completed and talent is no longer required, whilst some of these projects are still underway, budgets are being cut in line with the economic projections being suggested by many economists.

“Britain currently has its lowest unemployment rate since 1974, and while the tech sector has taken a global hit, the UK hasn’t felt it so strongly. While headlines emphasising the mass layoffs dominate the media, the numbers aren’t matching up. At Meta, 650 staff out of 11,000 total were laid off in the UK, yet the roles for tech companies remain open.

“Some tech companies will want to take a cautious view and prepare for what may lie ahead by reducing costs, but the situation in the UK isn’t necessarily mirroring the global trend.”

 

 

 

 

Amelia Brand
Amelia Brand

Amelia Brand is the Editor for HRreview, and host of the HR in Review podcast series. With a Master’s degree in Legal and Political Theory, her particular interests within HR include employment law, DE&I, and wellbeing within the workplace. Prior to working with HRreview, Amelia was Sub-Editor of a magazine, and Editor of the Environmental Justice Project at University College London, writing and overseeing articles into UCL’s weekly newsletter. Her previous academic work has focused on philosophy, politics and law, with a special focus on how artificial intelligence will feature in the future.