Retail, food and education top tech layoffs list so far in 2024, shows data

Numbers so far this year are lower than in 2023

Some sectors accounted for the bulk of the fresh layoffs in the startup technology space in 2024.

Around 85 per cent of the layoffs in the public domain are from three sectors, shows a Business Standard analysis of data from tracker Layoffs.fyi.

Retail accounted for the largest share (44 per cent), followed by food (22 per cent) and education (20 per cent). The numbers have been collated based on media reports.

While not an exact measure of the jobs lost, it can be considered broadly indicative of the trend. The website primarily covers jobs lost in startups rather than bluechip technology companies.

Education technology company Byju’s has reportedly let go of 500 employees in 2024. Reports also indicate layoffs at food technology companies, including Swiggy, in January and February. Also, e-commerce retail major Flipkart was reportedly contemplating laying off nearly 1,100 employees. These figures are according to news reports at various times of the year.

Other affected sectors include marketing, fitness and healthcare.

More than 2,500 people employed in startups or technology companies lost their jobs in 2024. So far, this year is better than the previous one.

In 2023, around 5,358 (as of April 3) lost their jobs, the highest since 2020. Overall, there were 16,398 job cuts in 2023. It was 14,224 in 2022 and 4,080 the year before.

 

Staffers in Byju’s sales, marketing and teaching department were affected. The company has laid off 5,500 employees since 2022, according to Layoffs.fyi.

The company has raised billions over the years in startup funding, but has lately been facing issues related to capital availability.

A similar story has played out elsewhere. This year, as of April 3, startups received $1.8 billion of funding. In the corresponding period last year, it was $3.1 billion, according to data from startup tracker Tracxn.

The lack of funding has been affecting startup companies globally with many technology companies opting for layoffs to conserve capital.

Globally, there were 57,505 job cuts with 90 per cent in the top three countries, including India. The country has reported the third-highest layoffs among 17 countries.

To be sure, the numbers are reported ones, which means that countries with better reporting may show higher numbers. Those with limited coverage may not see numbers climb as much despite firings.

The United States was at the top with 40,989 layoffs. Next was Germany with 8,640 layoffs, followed by India, the United Kingdom (2,070), Israel (1,470) and Singapore (374).