5 biggest tech companies that announced major layoffs in 2024

Employee lives can be significantly impacted by digital businesses' efforts to streamline operations, adapt to shifting market conditions, reorganise priorities, or even shut down. CRN examines five of the biggest IT layoffs that have occurred in 2024 thus far.

Cloud Software Group

In January, Cloud Software Group (CSG), the parent company of Citrix, announced a substantial reduction in its workforce, laying off approximately 1,000 employees, which represents about 12% of its total staff. This move is part of a strategic initiative to refine the company’s operations and improve efficiency. CEO Tom Krause highlighted that the layoffs are a pragmatic step to reassess areas with surplus resources and to align the workforce more closely with the company's evolving needs.

Despite the significant cuts, CSG plans to rehire about 500 of these employees in outsourced roles, focusing on operations, security, and IT functions. Krause emphasized the company’s commitment to sustainable value creation and reassured that the layoffs, though challenging, are aimed at strengthening the foundation for future growth.

This latest reduction follows a previous round of layoffs exactly a year prior, where CSG cut 15% of its workforce to concentrate on its top clients and shift mid-tier and commercial accounts to third-party providers.

Salesforce

Salesforce also made headlines with its January announcement of 700 layoffs, accounting for roughly 1% of its global workforce. This move follows a similar reduction of 10% made in early 2023. Reports from Bloomberg and The Wall Street Journal indicate that the layoffs are part of a routine workforce adjustment rather than a strategic overhaul.

In July, Salesforce further reduced its staff by an additional 300 employees, aiming to streamline operations and maintain efficiency. Despite these reductions, the company continues to have around 1,000 open positions, suggesting ongoing expansion in other areas of its business.

OpenText

OpenText, a prominent player in cybersecurity, AI, and IT management solutions, announced a major restructuring plan on July 3rd. The company will cut 1,200 jobs but simultaneously create 800 new positions as part of its "business optimization plan." This strategic realignment aims to support the company's growth and innovation objectives while achieving annual cost savings of approximately $200 million.

The reduction will bring OpenText’s workforce down by 1.7% to about 23,000 employees. The company plans to reinvest about $50 million annually into new roles across sales, professional services, and engineering to drive future growth.

Microsoft Azure

Microsoft is reportedly reducing its Azure and mixed reality teams by up to 1,500 employees as part of a broader organizational adjustment. This reduction, primarily affecting Azure for Operators and Mission Engineering within the Strategic Missions and Technologies (SMT) organization, reflects a shift in investment priorities towards artificial intelligence and other strategic areas.

The layoffs are linked to Microsoft’s decision to halt certain Azure projects and reallocate resources to more promising initiatives. In addition to these cuts, Microsoft also laid off approximately 1,900 employees in its Activision Blizzard and Xbox divisions earlier in the year.

Xerox

Xerox Holdings Corp. announced a 15% reduction in its workforce, equivalent to about 3,100 employees, as part of a significant operational shift. This restructuring aims to better align the company’s resources with its core print business, enhance productivity through a new Global Business Services organization, and focus on revenue diversification.

Xerox CEO Steven Bandrowczak described workforce reduction as a necessary step towards ensuring long-term viability and efficiency. The company is committed to supporting affected employees through transition services and consultation processes.

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