Amazon, Meta and Twitter are just one of the many corporations that laid off thousands of employees amid the holiday season.
A mass layoff occurs when at least 50 employees are let go and given about a 30-day notice. Not only is this detrimental to the employees themselves, but to the economy as a whole.
Some of the most significant layoffs that occurred in 2022 are:
- DoorDash layoffs: 6% of workforce laid off (November, 2022)
- Amazon layoffs: 1% of workforce laid off beginning (November, 2022)
- Meta layoffs: 13% of workforce laid off (November, 2022)
- Twitter layoffs: 50% of workforce laid off (November, 2022)
- Zillow layoffs: 5% of workforce laid off (October, 2022)
- Peloton layoffs: 12% of workforce laid off (October, 2022)
- Snapchat layoffs: 20% of workforce laid off (September, 2022)
- Robinhood layoffs: 9% of workforce laid off (April, 2022)
Under Elon Musk’s Twitter reign, he laid off 3,700 employees on November 4— which is nearly half of its global employees. The layoffs lessened the staff in several departments including content moderation, sales, advertising, engineering & development and more.
Twitter had the most significant mass layoff out of all the big corporations, eliminating 50% of their entire workforce.
Musk is defending the layoffs amid the controversy and said that Twitter is losing over $4 million per day and employees laid off were offered “3 months of severance, which is 50% more than legally required.”
Journalists are feeling the wrath of mass layoffs as well.
With just about 4,400 total employees, CNN laid off 400 of their own last week due to CEO Chris Licht’s effort to “transform the cable news network.”
“In those meetings, you will receive information specific to you about notice period or any severance that would apply, and your anticipated last day,” Licht said. “I want to be clear that everyone who is bonus eligible will still receive their 2022 bonuses, which are determined by company performance.”
“Let’s take care of each other this week,” Licht added.
As far as health insurance goes, if you were covered by your job, you may be eligible for COBRA (Consolidated Omnibus Reconciliation Act of 1986), which grants people the right to keep their health insurance after job termination for a certain period of time.
These are uncertain times for everybody. Between inflation and recession, Americans are struggling to keep up with their bills and financial responsibilities. There is no clear cut answer for these mass layoffs besides the common “it’s what is best for the company.”
Despite this, terminated employees are waiting for an answer.
