Major Tech Firms Cut Jobs, Freeze Hiring Thanks to Fears of Economic Downturn

Ridesharing app Lyft and payment processing startup Stripe informed their staff of layoffs Thursday in part due to expectations of an upcoming recession, while Amazon announced a corporate hiring freeze due to “unusual” economic conditions.

Lyft announced it would cut 13% of staff, nearly 700 jobs, according to the WSJ, while Stripe announced a 14% cut to just under 7,000 employees — implying a cut of at least 1,000 employees. Both companies cited recession fears and other macroeconomic challenges as motivators for their decisions, while Amazon senior vice president of people experience and technology Beth Galetti simply characterized current economic conditions as “uncertain and challenging” in a letter to Amazon staffers.

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