All posts tagged: Layoffs

GM just laid off hundreds of IT workers to hire those with stronger AI skills

GM just laid off hundreds of IT workers to hire those with stronger AI skills

Published by skeptic

General Motors has laid off more than 10% of its IT department, or about 600 salaried employees — in a deliberate skills swap: clearing out workers whose expertise no longer fits and making room for some with AI-focused backgrounds. GM confirmed to TechCrunch that it had conducted layoffs; they were first reported by Bloomberg News. In an emailed statement, the automaker framed the layoffs as a means to prepare it for the future, without providing specifics. “GM is transforming its Information Technology organization to better position the company for the future,” the company said. These layoffs are not all permanent headcount reductions. A person familiar with the layoffs told TechCrunch that the company is still hiring people for roles in its IT department, but for different skills. The most sought-after capabilities are AI-native development, data engineering and analytics, cloud-based engineering, and agent and model development, prompt engineering, and new AI workflows. In practical terms, GM is looking for people who know how to build with AI from the ground up — designing the systems, training …

Laid-off Oracle workers tried to negotiate better severance. Oracle said no. 

Laid-off Oracle workers tried to negotiate better severance. Oracle said no. 

Published by skeptic

As was widely reported, Oracle axed an estimated 20,000 to 30,000 people via email on March 31. One of the employees cut that day told TechCrunch about the experience: “I had, like, this weird feeling in my stomach. I went to go sign into the VPN, and the VPN was like, ‘this user doesn’t exist anymore.’ Then I called my friend, and I was like, ‘Hey, can you see me in Slack?’ And she said, ‘No, your account’s been deactivated.’” The person soon received an email stating their role was terminated immediately. The severance offer arrived a few days later. But Oracle’s terms would quickly become a point of contention — and some laid-off employees would push back. Oracle offered fairly standard Corporate America terms to laid off employees. In exchange for signing a release waiving their right to sue, employees received four weeks of pay for the first year, plus one additional week per year of service, capped at 26 weeks. The company was also paying for one month of COBRA insurance.   The catch: Although …

Cloudflare says AI made 1,100 jobs obsolete, even as revenue hit a record high

Cloudflare says AI made 1,100 jobs obsolete, even as revenue hit a record high

Published by skeptic

Cloudflare on Thursday joined a growing list of tech companies — including Meta, Microsoft, and Google — that have reported increased revenue alongside and massive layoffs, attributing both trends to their use of AI. Cloudflare, which provides internet security and performance services to millions of websites worldwide, announced it was cutting its workforce by approximately 20%, which equates to 1,100 people, it said as part of its first quarter 2026 earnings report on Thursday. “We’ve never done something like this in Cloudflare’s history,” co-founder and CEO Matthew Prince said Thursday on the quarterly conference call, marking the first mass layoff in the company’s 16-year history. The company is cutting people from all teams and geographies except for salespeople who carry revenue quotas, CFO Thomas Seifert detailed on the call. The news of the workforce cuts came as the company reported quarterly revenues of $639.8 million, a 34% year-over-year increase and the highest single quarter in the company’s history. However, this was coupled with a loss of $62.0 million compared with losing $53.2 million in the …

Truecaller slashes 70 jobs amid declining ad sales

Truecaller slashes 70 jobs amid declining ad sales

Published by skeptic

Sweden-based caller ID company Truecaller said it will cut 70 jobs, or roughly 15% of its workforce, in the second quarter, as the company posted its Q1 2026 results with a decline in revenue and profits. Truecaller blamed real-money gaming in India, changes in advertising partner algorithms, and conflict in the Middle East for the slide. As TechCrunch reported last month, the company is already facing challenges from India’s telecom-led solutions, such as Calling Name Presentation (CNAP) identification service, and 5% year-on-year decline in downloads last year. In its Q1 2026 results, Truecaller’s net sales dropped 27% to 362 million SEK ($39.34 million). In its biggest market, India, net sales dipped by 41% year-on-year. In addition, ad revenues declined by 44%. “The year-on-year comparison looks especially weak given that Q1 and Q2 last year included a large contribution coming from the real money gaming sector in India in connection with the IPL season that takes place around this time. The situation in the Middle East also reduced our revenues from that region,” Truecaller CEO Rishit Jhunjhunwala …

Avengers star bashes Disney for ‘disgusting’ layoffs

Avengers star bashes Disney for ‘disgusting’ layoffs

Published by Daniella Wilson

Get the latest entertainment news, reviews and star-studded interviews with our Independent Culture email Get the latest entertainment news with our free Culture newsletter Get the latest entertainment news with our free Culture newsletter Evangeline Lilly has lambasted Disney over its recent layoffs, which impacted around 1,000 employees, including a significant portion of staff across Marvel’s film and TV production, comics, franchise, finance, legal and visual development teams. Lilly — who starred as Hope van Dyne/Wasp in the Paul Rudd-led Ant-Man trilogy and two Avengers films — spoke out against the entertainment conglomerate in an Instagram video shared Wednesday. Showing a social media clip about the layoffs, the Lost alum, 46, said she reached out to her “good friend,” Marvel Studios’ Director of Visual Development Andy Park, to confirm the rumors. She said Park confirmed the layoffs and that he was among those affected. “I can’t quite believe that — that Disney have let go of the artists who brought the current Marvel Universe to life through their genius and that the people who invented …

Montclair Art Museum Hires Curator Kate Kraczon After Layoffs at Brown

Montclair Art Museum Hires Curator Kate Kraczon After Layoffs at Brown

Published by José Betancourt

The Montclair Art Museum has a new chief curator. The New Jersey institution hired Kate Kraczon, who lost her job as director of exhibitions and chief curator at the David Winton Bell Gallery at Brown University, in Providence, Rhode Island, late last year amid a wave of layoffs; she had served in that office since 2019. Kraczon takes over the role from Gail Stavitsky, who had held the post since 1994, and takes up her new position June 15. Before the Bell, Kraczon was associate curator at the Institute of Contemporary Art at the University of Pennsylvania in Philadelphia from 2008–19. Related Articles The museum also appointed Todd Caissie, an enrolled member of the Osage Nation and previously director of Canada’s New Brunswick Internment Camp Museum, as director. Before entering museum work, he was an executive search consultant in Tokyo and New York.  “I am honored to join MAM at this pivotal moment, and to work in close partnership with Todd Caissie, whose vision for the museum resonates with my own,” said Kraczon in an …

Redwood Materials loses COO amid layoffs, restructuring

Redwood Materials loses COO amid layoffs, restructuring

Published by skeptic

Redwood Materials chief operating officer Chris Lister is leaving the battery recycling company to retire, TechCrunch has learned — and he’s not the only executive that recently departed. Lister, a former vice president who led operations at Tesla’s Nevada Gigafactory, has been with Redwood since late 2023. He started as the company’s chief supply chain officer and was quickly promoted to the COO role in 2024. The promotion put him closer in the org chart to Redwood founder and CEO JB Straubel, who was Tesla’s longtime chief technology officer and currently sits on the automaker’s board. Redwood Materials recently informed employees that Lister was retiring, according to an employee who was granted anonymity to speak about the announcement. The company confirmed Lister’s departure to TechCrunch on Thursday. “We wish him the best in his retirement,” a spokesperson said via email. News of Lister’s retirement comes just a few days after TechCrunch revealed Redwood Materials recently laid off around 10% of its workforce, or roughly 135 employees. Those cuts were part of a restructuring that Straubel …

Meta to cut 10% of jobs, or 8,000 employees, report says

Meta to cut 10% of jobs, or 8,000 employees, report says

Published by skeptic

Meta is planning to cut 10% of its workforce, amounting to 8,000 employees, according to a report from Bloomberg. Meta also will not hire for 6,000 roles that are currently open. According to an internal memo sent to employees Thursday and viewed by Bloomberg, Meta told staff that the cuts will begin on May 20. Reuters had earlier reported on Meta’s plans for sweeping layoffs. TechCrunch has reached out to Meta for comment. “We’re doing this as part of our continued effort to run the company more efficiently and to allow us to offset the other investments we’re making,” chief people office Janelle Gale told employees, according to the memo. “This is not an easy tradeoff and it will mean letting go of people who have made meaningful contributions to Meta during their time here.” Meta spent tens of billions on its metaverse efforts, which largely failed. The company has also had to make major investments in its AI efforts in order to keep up with competitors in the space — earlier this month, it …

Meta To Unleash First Wave Of Mass Layoffs May 20 As It Eliminates 10% Of Its Workers

Meta To Unleash First Wave Of Mass Layoffs May 20 As It Eliminates 10% Of Its Workers

Published by Jenni Sidey

The FaceBook currently known as Meta for one failed venture that incinerated nearly $100 billion in cash for its failed transformation to a virtual reality hub while laying off thousands, is at it again. As we previewed a few weeks ago, Meta – which inexplicably hasn’t changed its name to AIbook yet – will proceed with the first wave of mass layoffs planned for this year on May 20, with more ‌coming later, Reuters reported citing sources. The Facebook and Instagram owner will lay off about 10% of its global workforce, or close to 8,000 employees, in that initial round, as it swaps headcount for GPUs.  And that’s just the start: the company is planning further layoffs in the second half of the ​year, although details of those cuts, including date and size, have yet to be determined and will depend on just how much more money Meta burns in its experiment to prove that AI will actually generate positive cash flow.  Last month, Reuters ⁠reported that the company was planning to lay off 20% …

Artnet Makes Significant Layoffs Following Consolidation with Artsy

Artnet Makes Significant Layoffs Following Consolidation with Artsy

Published by Jenni Sidey

Following yesterday’s news that Artsy and Artnet had been brought under the same leadership, the latter online art marketplace has laid off dozens of employees. Sources told ARTnews that the layoffs particularly impacted Artnet’s editorial arm, Artnet News, one of the most widely read art publications in the US and Europe. Among the senior reporters who are no longer at Artnet News are Sarah Cascone and Eileen Kinsella, both of whom were on staff at the publication for more than a decade. Related Articles Andrew Russeth, who previously served as executive editor of ARTnews, will reportedly now serve as the interim editor of Artnet News, which has historically operated out of New York, London, and Berlin. Also severely impacted, according to those sources, was the Berlin team that helps facilitate Artnet’s efforts to sell art online. In addition to publishing news articles and vending art listed by gallery partners, Artnet runs a database that allows users to track the results of sales held at major auction houses across the globe. Available at a premium fee, …