For many workers, it pays to have a job in an R&D or STEM-heavy field. The Bureau of Labor Statistics forecasts 10.4% growth in STEM jobs through 2033, more than double the overall employment growth rate of 4%. However, the technology sector has experienced significant restructuring in 2024, with approximately 150,000 job cuts across more than 525 companies through December 23, including nearly 10,000 cuts in Q4 alone. Hardware and electronics manufacturers have seen the most substantial impact, with over 26,800 layoffs. Biotech also remains under pressure, with multiple gene-editing and pharmaceutical players cutting deep. The transportation industry is close behind, while finance and consumer segments have each seen double-digit cuts as well.
[For 2025 layoffs, check out our ‘2025 R&D layoffs tracker.’ This piece was updated on December 31, 2024.]
For many workers, it pays to have a job in an R&D or STEM-heavy field. The Bureau of Labor Statistics forecasts 10.4% growth in STEM jobs through 2033, more than double the overall employment growth rate of 4%. But that doesn’t mean all sectors within STEM are thriving uniformly. Employment in several industrial sectors is likely to stagnate over the next decade, according to BLS projections. Tech layoffs in Silicon Valley have been at their highest level since the Dot Com Bubble burst. Industry tracking shows the tech industry has now reached nearly 150,000 job cuts across more than 525 companies as of early December, with over 9,700 cuts occurring in Q4 alone.
As we noted in the article “The great R&D reshuffle of 2024: AI drove significant restructuring across sectors,” many firms are making cuts even as they invest heavily in AI. Hardware and electronics manufacturers have seen the largest impact with over 26,800 layoffs. Intel alone is culling 15,000 workers while pouring billions into AI chip development. The biotech sector continues experiencing significant consolidation, too. See Editas Medicine’s December 12 announcement of a 180-person reduction (65% of workforce) — one of the highest percentage cuts recently in the sector. That company is also pivoting away from traditional gene-editing programs. This follows earlier biotech restructuring at Ginkgo Bioworks (400) and Bristol Myers (2,200). The transportation sector follows with more than 19,400 job cuts, while finance and consumer sectors each saw over 11,000 layoffs. Companies like SAP continue investing €2 billion annually in AI while planning to cut up to 8,000 jobs.
Tesla’s 14,000-person reduction is something of a microcosm of this shift. While companies are cutting jobs, many are pivoting toward emerging technologies and operational efficiency. Dell’s 12,500 job cuts in sales roles came alongside significant AI investments. AMD’s 1,000-person reduction occurred while raising its 2024 data center AI chip revenue forecast to more than $5 billion. Companies are not just cutting costs but reimagining their workforce composition — from Revel’s shift to a gig-worker model to Google’s strategy of moving certain roles overseas. The trend extends beyond tech. In biotech, companies like Exscientia cut 25% of their workforce while doubling down on AI-driven drug discovery. Ginkgo Bioworks announced cuts while launching new AI initiatives and a $250 million Google Cloud partnership.
[BLS]
| # | Company | Layoffs | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Volkswagen AG | 35,000 | Major restructuring with continued R&D investment in EV technology; gradual reduction through 2030 |
| 2 | Intel | 15,000 | 15% workforce reduction for cost savings |
| 3 | Tesla | 14,000 | 10% global reduction while maintaining core AI/autonomy R&D teams |
| 4 | Dell | 12,500 | 10% reduction, restructuring for AI initiatives |
| 5 | Cisco | 9,850 | Two rounds: 4,250 + 5,600 (infrastructure/security reorganization) |
| 6 | Amazon | 9,000 | Cuts in advertising, cloud, and Twitch |
| 7 | SAP | 8,000 | 2.5% reduction, focus on cloud business |
| 8 | Siemens | 5,000 | Cuts in factory automation division |
| 9 | Verizon | 4,800 | Voluntary separation program through March 2025 |
| 10 | Microsoft | 4,050 | Multiple rounds in 2024: Gaming division (2,550 across Xbox/Activision Blizzard), Azure/Mission Engineering (1,500), while maintaining AI development focus |
| 11 | Toshiba | 4,000 | 6% reduction in Japanese workforce |
| 12 | Xerox | 3,015 | 15% workforce reduction |
| 13 | Amdocs | 3,000* | *Layoff range between 1,500 and 3,000 (5-10% of workforce) |
| 14 | Telia | 3,000 | 15% reduction for cost savings |
| 15 | VMware | 2,837 | Infrastructure layoffs |
| 16 | Tata Steel | 2,800 | Port Talbot plant transition to electric furnaces |
| 17 | Telstra | 2,800 | Primarily enterprise division cuts |
| 18 | PayPal | 2,500 | 9% reduction, focusing on AI and blockchain initiatives |
| 19 | ThyssenKrupp | 2,370 | Restructuring for efficiency |
| 20 | Bristol Myers | 2,200 | 6% of total workforce |
| 21 | UKG | 2,200 | 14% reduction in enterprise software division |
| 22 | FedEx | 2,000 | European operations cost reduction |
| 23 | Ricoh | 2,000 | Global restructuring initiative |
| 24 | Unity | 1,800 | 25% workforce reduction |
| 25 | Intuit | 1,800 | 10% cut, shifting focus to AI |
| 26 | Mercury Marine | 1,700 | Partial layoffs due to sales decline |
| 27 | Ford | 1,600 | Valencia plant reduction |
| 28 | Natwest | 1,600 | Restructuring effort |
| 29 | Nike | 1,600 | Company-wide restructuring |
| 30 | Northvolt | 1,600 | Swedish battery maker cost reduction |
| 31 | Twitter/X | 1,500 | Multiple rounds post-Musk acquisition |
| 32 | Infineon | 1,400 | Manufacturing layoffs |
| 33 | Cue Health | 1,300 | Healthcare layoffs across multiple rounds |
| 34 | Ericsson | 1,200 | Swedish operations reduction |
| 35 | OpenText | 1,200 | 2% reduction while adding 800 new positions in sales, engineering and services; part of $200M optimization plan |
| 36 | Vodafone Spain | 1,200 | Regional restructuring |
| 37 | Stellantis | 1,100 | Toledo plant with note on reversal |
| 38 | Takeda | 1,100 | Massachusetts operations reduction |
| 39 | Bayer | 1,100 | Primarily management positions |
| 40 | Salesforce | 1,000 | Two 2024 rounds: 700 in January (~1% global) + 300 in July. Part of broader cost-cutting measures. |
| 41 | GM | 1,000 | Global white-collar reduction focused on streamlining operations while protecting core EV development |
| 42 | Citrix | 1,000 | 12% reduction across business units with 500 positions transitioned to outsourced capacity; focus on enterprise customers |
| 43 | 1,000 | Cuts in Flutter, Dart, and Python teams | |
| 44 | Scale AI | 1,000 | Contract workers terminated via email |
| 45 | Dyson | 1,000 | UK operations reduction |
| 46 | AMD | 1,000 | Shift focus to AI chip dev (combined rounds) |
| 47 | IBM | 1,000 | Company restructuring |
| 48 | Klarna | 1,000 | AI integration-related reduction |
| 49 | Block | 1,000 | 10% reduction, maintaining crypto/blockchain R&D |
| 50 | Sony PlayStation | 900 | 8% of global PlayStation workforce |
| 51 | SolarEdge | 900 | 16% reduction in solar technology division |
| 52 | Kenvue | 880 | J&J spinoff company reduction |
| 53 | EA | 670 | Project cancellations, office reductions |
| 54 | Freshworks | 660 | 13% reduction in enterprise software/AI teams |
| 55 | Apple | 614 | EV project and display team cuts |
| 56 | Take-Two | 579 | 5% reduction across game studios |
| 57 | Motional | 550 | 40% cut in autonomous vehicle development |
| 58 | Dropbox | 527 | 20% reduction, maintaining core cloud infra |
| 59 | Ola Electric | 500 | Layoffs in transportation sector |
| 60 | Enphase Energy | 500 | Layoffs in energy sector |
| 61 | Chegg | 441 | 23% reduction in EdTech division |
| 62 | DocuSign | 440 | 6% reduction while maintaining security R&D |
| 63 | UIPath | 420 | 10% reduction in automation tech teams |
| 64 | Ginkgo Bioworks | 400 | Biotech/synthetic biology layoffs |
| 65 | Lucid Motors | 400 | Transportation/EV technology layoffs |
| 66 | Okta | 400 | 7% reduction in security infrastructure division |
| 67 | Moxion Power | 350 | Energy sector layoffs |
| 68 | Udemy | 280 | EdTech platform restructuring with AI integration |
| 69 | Proofpoint | 280 | Security software/infrastructure reduction |
| 70 | Miro | 275 | 18% reduction in collaborative software dev |
| 71 | Pure Storage | 275 | Data storage technology reorganization |
| 72 | RealPage | 260 | 4% reduction in property tech development |
| 73 | WeTransfer | 260 | 75% reduction, maintaining core file transfer infra |
| 74 | ChargePoint | 250 | 15% cut in EV charging infrastructure dev |
| 75 | Akamai | 250 | 2% reduction in CDN and cloud security division |
| 76 | Unacademy | 250 | EdTech platform development restructuring |
| 77 | Grammarly | 230 | Restructuring of AI/NLP development teams |
| 78 | Bungie | 220 | 17% workforce reduction, heavy R&D in game dev |
| 79 | Kiwi.com | 216 | 18% reduction, travel tech with proprietary algorithms |
| 80 | Personio | 215 | 6% reduction, HR tech with significant software dev |
| 81 | 202 | 1% reduction in AI/ML teams | |
| 82 | ABBYY | 200 | Data/AI sector, strong R&D in document processing |
| 83 | OrCam | 200 | Healthcare technology layoffs |
| 84 | Xendit | 200 | Fintech infrastructure dev reorganization |
| 85 | Forward | 200 | 100% reduction, healthcare tech division closure |
| 86 | 23andMe | 200 | 40% reduction in genetics R&D |
| 87 | ShareFile | 199 | Enterprise software division reorganization |
| 88 | Five9 | 190 | 7% reduction in cloud computing division |
| 89 | Avaya | 180 | 3% reduction in enterprise communications tech |
| 90 | Planet | 180 | 17% reduction in space technology operations |
| 91 | Editas Medicine | 180 | 65% reduction in gene-editing R&D operations |
| 92 | Samsung SDI America | 179 | Battery manufacturing & advanced R&D layoffs at Auburn Hills, MI facility |
| 93 | Discord | 170 | 17% reduction in platform dev teams |
| 94 | Runtastic | 170 | Fitness tech platform restructuring |
| 95 | ConsenSys | 163 | 20% reduction in blockchain development |
| 96 | OutSystems | 150 | 8% reduction in low-code platform dev |
| 97 | Coursera | 150 | 10% reduction in EdTech dev |
| 98 | Zoom | 150 | 2% reduction in video communications technology |
| 99 | HealthifyMe | 150 | 27% reduction in health tech development |
| 100 | Criteo | 140 | 4% reduction in adtech and ML teams |
| 101 | GoPro | 139 | 15% reduction in hardware/software integration |
