Tech's New Normal: Microcuts Over Growth at All Costs

The tech industry has largely recovered from the downturn, but Silicon Valley learned a long-lasting lesson: how to do more with less. From a report: Amazon, Google, Microsoft and Meta Platforms have been cutting dozens or a few hundred employees at a time as executives keep tight controls on costs, even as their businesses and stock prices have rebounded sharply. The cuts are far smaller than the mass layoffs that reached tens of thousands in late 2022 and early this year. But they suggest a new era for an industry that in years past grew with little restraint, one in which companies are focusing on efficiency and acting more like their corporate peers that emphasize shareholder value and healthy margins.

The launch of the humanlike chatbot ChatGPT late last year served as a bright spot of growth in an industry that was otherwise scaling back. Challenges regarding the technology and calls for regulation remain, but some of the biggest tech companies are starting to make it their priority. There is a reallocation of resources from noncore areas to projects such as AI rather than hiring new people, said Ward, who was previously a director of recruiting at Facebook and the head of recruiting at Pinterest.

Amazon eliminated several hundred roles this month from its Alexa division to maximize its 'resources and efforts focused on generative AI,' according to an internal memo. The company has also made small cuts in recent weeks to its gaming and music divisions. Facebook's parent, Meta, recently posted its largest quarterly revenue in more than a decade. It laid off 20 people weeks later. Chief Executive Officer Mark Zuckerberg said on an earnings call that the company would continue to operate more efficiently going forward 'both because it creates a more disciplined and lean culture, and also because it provides stability to see our long-term initiatives through in a very volatile world.'

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