Over 1,600 tech employees being fired a day on average in January

More than 1,600 tech employees are being laid off per day on average in 2023 globally including in India, and the sacking episodes have gained speed amid global economic meltdown and recession fears.

In 2022, over 1,000 companies laid off 154,336 workers, as per the data from layoffs tracking site Layoffs.fyi.

The mass tech layoffs of 2022 are continuing into the new year, and Indian companies and startups are among the leaders in firing staff.

Homegrown social media company ShareChat (Mohalla Tech Pvt Ltd) laid off 20 per cent of its workforce due to uncertain market conditions, affecting more than 500 employees.

Backed by Twitter, Google, Snap and Tiger Global, ShareChat has about 2,300 employees.

In December 2022, ShareChat laid off less than 5 per cent of its employees after it shut down its fantasy sports platform called Jeet11.

Companies like Ola (which fired 200 employees) and voice automated startup Skit.ai also dominated the headlines for laying off employees this month.

Homegrown quick-grocery delivery provider Dunzo has laid off 3 per cent of its workforce amid cost-cutting measures.

The year 2023 has begun on a bad note for tech workers globally and 91 companies have laid off more than 24,000 tech employees in the first 15 days this month, signalling worse days ahead.

Amazon announced to lay off 18,000 employees globally, including nearly 1,000 in India.

Meanwhile, LinkedIn is full of job hunts, offers of support for laid off friends and colleagues, and advice for coping with career hurdles as several companies trim their workforce to navigate through an uncertain macroeconomic environment.

According to market research firm Sensor Tower, the LinkedIn app was downloaded an estimated 58.4 million times in 2022 globally across Google Play Store and Apple App Stores -- up 10 per cent from 2021.