These are some of the notable companies laying off workers

The U.S. job market has been remarkably strong, even in the face of other economic head winds. Yet there’s been a proliferation of large-scale layoffs in recent months.

Some of the deepest cuts have occurred in the tech and media sectors, but even large corporations with relatively robust balance sheets have slashed hundreds of white-collar positions.

The economy added 223,000 jobs in December, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, as unemployment fell to 3.5%, near record lows.

Though prices have eased, inflation remains high and an ongoing headache for the Federal Reserve, which has been raising interest rates at the fastest pace in decades to combat it.

Meanwhile, many experts say a recession is likely.

Technology firms and internet companies have generated some of the most notable layoff announcements:

Aaron Terrazas, the chief economist at the employment website Glassdoor, said there are three kinds of companies laying off employees right now: those for whom debt is becoming more expensive amid Fed tightening; those uncertain about the economic outlook; and those using the economic climate as an excuse to cut employees they would have let go anyway.

“The biggest question right now is this re-evaluation of risk,” Terrazas said, noting that businesses coming out of the pandemic must contend with geopolitics, employee retention, investment and the supply chain.

“Today’s business leaders have been scarred by this endless parade of risk events over the past couple of years and just desperately want a year when things go according to plan – and so they’re planning conservatively,” he said. “That’s the dynamic that we’re seeing in the economy.”

Here’s a rundown of some of the more significant layoffs, including not only tech companies but also firms in other industries, with the biggest cutters at the top.

1. Amazon

The Seattle-based e-commerce giant first announced in November plans to slash roughly 10,000 corporate jobs – many from its human resources, devices and retail divisions – and this week raised that total to 18,000.

The reduction appears to be the largest in a decade of near-constant expansion, with more than 1.5 million employees at the end of September.

Amazon, like other tech companies, went on a hiring binge during the pandemic, and analysts say the layoffs mark the end of an era marked by industry bloat.

2. MetaIn November, the parent company of Facebook and Instagram announced plans to cut 11,000 jobs, or 13% of its workforce, in an effort to rein in expenses and focus on transforming its advertising business.

The cuts underscored a tumultuous new period in Silicon Valley, whose tech giants have been long regarded as recession-proof.

Mark Zuckerberg, the company’s founder, has said declines in online shopping and advertising competition led to a decline in revenue.

His company has also bet big on a push to create a virtual world often called the metaverse.

3. Salesforce

The cloud-computing giant – whose products include the popular workplace chat system Slack, as well as tools for sales, marketing and customer service – announced cost-cutting plans that include shedding 10% of its workforce.

Salesforce has more than 79,000 employees, meaning the layoffs could affect nearly 8,000 people.

Co-chief executive Marc Benioff said the company hired too many people when its sales surged during the pandemic.

Salesforce’s latest quarterly report showed a slowdown in its revenue growth rate.

4. Twitter

Soon after Elon Musk acquired the San Francisco-based social media company, he fired much of the company’s top brass and laid off roughly half of its 7,500 workers.

Hundreds more workers departed in November after refusing to sign a pledge to work longer hours, the Post reported.

The Tesla billionaire has been under extreme financial pressure since the deal wrapped up in October; analysts have pegged Twitter’s value near $25 billion, well below the $44 billion footed by Musk and his investors.

He is expected to owe $1 billion in annual interest payments alone, after taking out a large loan to help pay for it.

The site also has seen a significant drop in ad revenue.

5. Morgan Stanley

In December, the investment bank trimmed about 1,600 workers, or 2% of its workforce, CNBC reported.

The cuts appeared to be part of a tradition among Morgan Stanley and its peers to cut a percentage of low performers at year’s end – a practice that had been suspended during the pandemic.

The bank had seen its head count grow roughly 34% since early 2020, partly as a result of two acquisitions.

Inflation has cut into deal making, according to Reuters, putting pressure on investment banks that earned record profits a year earlier from consulting on mergers, acquisitions and IPOs.

6. Ford

Redirecting its focus on electric vehicles and their batteries, Ford in August let go about 3,000 white-collar contract employees, according to the Wall Street Journal.

It represented a 1% reduction in Ford’s 183,000-person workforce and mainly affected workers in the United States, Canada and India, according to the Journal.

7. DoorDash

Swollen by pandemic hiring, the food delivery company in November shed 1,250 corporate jobs, about 6% of its workforce.

CEO Tony Xu said in a note to employees that company leaders were “not as rigorous as we should have been in managing our team growth,” as the company’s revenue growth was eclipsed by operating expenses.

8. H&M

The world’s second-largest fashion retailer, based in Sweden, said in November that it would cut 1,500 positions, about 1% of its workforce.

The move was part of a $177 million effort to cut costs amid surging inflation in Europe tied to the war in Ukraine, Reuters reported.

Compounding the retailer’s woes were disappointing third-quarter results as it struggled to keep up with Inditex, the owner of Zara.

9. HP

The computer giant said in November that it would trim 4,000 to 6,000 workers by the end of 2025 in an effort to reduce costs.

The announcement came after HP reported an 11.2% drop in fourth-quarter revenue compared with the same period in 2021; full-year sales dipped 0.8%.

The staff reductions were included in the company’s “future ready transformation” plan.

10. Kraken

The cryptocurrency exchange said in a November blog post that it would slash 30% of its payroll, or 1,100 workers, to “adapt to current market conditions.”

The industry experienced a dramatic downturn in 2022, erasing billions of dollars of investments.

Kraken said that it had tripled its global workforce in recent years and that the reduction would bring its head count back to 2021 levels.

“Unfortunately, negative influences on the financial markets have continued and we have exhausted preferable options for bringing costs in line with demand,” the company wrote.

11. Stripe

Online payment company Stripe will cut 14% of its workforce.

In a memo to staff in November, the company said the cuts will return Stripe’s head count to almost what it was in February laying off about 1,100 people.

12. Shopify

Shopify announced last summer that 10% of its staff would be laid off.

The company reported a head count at the end of 2021 of more than 10,000 people, meaning the layoffs are estimated to impact about 1,000 workers.

13. Vimeo

Video-streaming company Vimeo said Wednesday that it would lay off about 11% of its staff, or about 140 people, “due to the uncertain economic environment.”