Meta reportedly plans mass layoffs this week

Meta might be laying off several thousand of its employees this week. The Wall Street Journal cited unnamed sources familiar with the company's plans that an announcement might come as soon as Wednesday. If accurate, these layoffs will be the first large-scale workforce reduction in its 18-year history. Facebook's parent company is reportedly looking to slash its costs by at least 10% within the next few months.

These cost-cutting efforts show how companies, which make money through ads, are looking to rein in spending following the tech industry's rapid growth during the pandemic. Meta currently employs 87,000 people. And its CEO Mark Zuckerberg hinted during its third-quarter earnings call that job cuts might be imminent.

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Shaw temporarily lays off 10% of its employees due to COVID-19

Calgary-based Shaw Communications announced on Tuesday that because of the COVID-19 pandemic, it'll temporarily lay off 10% of its workforce. The company said the layoffs will begin on Thursday, April 16, affecting fewer than 1,000 of its 10,000 employees. Most of the laid-off staff work in retail and sales roles. Shaw and Shaw-owned Freedom Mobile closed most of its retail stores to comply with government directives to help slow the spread of the virus.

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Huawei will reportedly lay off hundreds of employees at its US R&D facilities

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The implications of the US blacklisting on Huawei’s business is reportedly affecting the jobs it offers in the country. According to a Wall Street Journal report, the company will be laying off hundreds of employees at Futurewei Technologies, its U.S. research and development lab. The company has begun informing some staff from its offices in Texas, Silicon Valley, and Washington State that they are letting people go. Some of their Chinese employees are being given the option to return home and stay with the company. Other layoffs are also reportedly planned in the future.

Source: The Verge

Sony rumoured to be cutting its smartphone division in half by 2020

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It isn’t exactly a secret that Sony’s smartphone business isn’t doing so well. And it seems that’ll affect the structure of the company’s mobile division. Nikkei Asian Review reports that Sony is reportedly planning to cut half of its smartphone workforce by 2020. The layoffs could leave as many as 2,000 people without a job. However, it’s expected that Sony might transfer some of these workers to other divisions. This won’t be the first time Sony has done this. They laid off 2,000 employees back in 2009 after closing four facilities where smartphones were produced. It then took out 1,000 more jobs in 2015 due to underwhelming earnings.

Source: Engadget