Tech job cuts to soar in 2014: Report

Regarding the tech industry, there are projections of an increase in job cuts compared to previous years, an analysis presented by the executive search firm Challenger, Gray & Christmas points out. In the first half of the year alone, tech companies announced the eradication of as many as 48,402 jobs. This figure is significantly higher than the 28,883 job cuts revealed during the same period the preceding year, a mid-year report published reveals. Even more startling is the fact that this whooping 68% rise from last year does not factor in Microsoft’s recent disclosure of terminating 14% of its workforce.

For insights into Wall Street’s response to Microsoft’s job reductions, read more.

In the tech sector, some notable companies significantly pared down their workforce in the first half of the year:

5/24/2014 Hewlett-Packard Co. 16,000 employees
1/20/2014 Intel Corp. 5,350 employees
2/27/2014 Maximus Inc. (Affordable Act health center) 1,600 employees
5/19/2014 LivingSocial 1,500 employees
1/23/2014 Texas Instruments Inc. 1,100 employees
3/1/2014 Verizon Wireless Irvine 1,092 employees
5/30/2014 Dell Inc. (India plant) 1,000 employees
1/29/2014 EMC Corp. 1,000 employees
4/9/2014 Intel (Costa Rica Plant) 1,000 employees
2/27/2014 Sony Electronics 1,000 employees
2/13/2014 Verizon call center 600 employees
1/26/2014 Center Partners call center 500 employees
2/28/2014 Cox Communications (call centers) 500 employees
Source: Challenger, Gray & Christmas, Inc.

If the present rate of job cuts endures, it’s foreseeable that the magnitude of job cuts in the tech industry this year could potentially surge to levels unseen since 2009, when the figures touched 174,629 jobs, notes the report. Surpassing these statistics was the tech sector in 2001, which witnessed the highest layoffs, with a staggering 695,581 jobs terminated, as per Challenger, Gray & Christmas’ data. In the first half of the reviewed year alone, computer firms announced the most job cuts with around 30,002 job positions getting axed, followed by the telecommunications sector with 5,214 job cuts. Meanwhile, the electronics industry signaled a reduction of its workforce by 5,356 positions.

source: Cadie Thompson/CNBC

Minor enhancements were applied in 2025 for readability.