Digital Downturn: The 10 Biggest Tech Company Layoffs

Image via Complex Original

Since late 2007, the economic recession has been accountable for the loss of over 500,000 tech jobs. Some of the biggest companies have succumbed to hiring freezes, outsourcing of work, and downsizing of staff in hopes of higher profit margins. Others are on the verge of filing for Chapter 7. Though things are on the uptick, the recent layoffs at Yahoo!—new CEO Scott Thompson let go 2,000 employees two months after taking the position—remind us that anything can happen. The good news, however, is that Thompson's round of layoffs wasn't nearly as bad as some of the firings other tech companies had to go through as recently as 2010. If you losing 2,000 people was bad, check out the 10 biggest tech company layoffs.

10. Sprint

Body count: 14,500

The third largest cellular provider announced 8,000 job cutbacks in 2009 to reduce internal and labor costs by $1.2 billion annually. Its merger with mobile walkie-talkie specialists Nextel opened up another wound leading to more budget cuts and a subscriber plunge of 100,000 reportedly due to bad customer service and dropped calls. Sprint would place its focus on increasing customer satisfaction and close 27 call centers stating service improvements decreased call volume. That just doesn't add up.

9. Panasonic

Body count: 15,000

One of many tech companies impacted by the increased value of the yen, Panasonic swung the unemployment hammer and closed 27 plants due to slow sales and raw material costs. The largest consumer electronics maker in Japan has been competing with Korean tech rivals Samsung and LG, two companies benefiting from a weaker currency rate, slashing prices on all its products to push sales. Quarterly profits dropped 20 percent in 2008, with overseas' sales having decreased 29 percent and Japanese sales down 10 percent. Looking at those stats, Panasonic's layoffs seem justifiable.

8. Sony

Body count: 16,000

Poor sales from its Bravia LCD TVs, Cyber-shot digital cameras, and portable media devices are reportedly to blame for Sony's massive layoffs. Its film, online, and videogame divisions have also seen pink slips. The Japanese manufacturer redirected its goals in 2008 with hopes of saving $1.1 billion each year by curbing investments, avoiding unprofitable ventures, and outsourcing mobile production. Ironically, it would post a $1.75 billion sales decrease from its Sony Ericsson joint venture the following year.

7. United Technologies

Body count: 18,000

High-tech manufacturer UTC attributed a slow economy, along with declines in the building and aerospace industries for its layoffs. Company presidents worked on saving $1 billion in 2010 by introducing cost-cutting measures such as overtime reductions, merit pay deferrals, furloughs, and hiring freezes. At least you got a heads-up of where not to send your resume.

6. AT&T

Body count: 18,401

Customer spending reductions and a deteriorating landline market caused Ma Bell to dimiss 12,000 people at the end of 2008. More job cuts would follow after AT&T's top security office leaked private information from iPad 3G owners to hackers within two months of its release. On the bright side, as of 2011, the largest mobile provider has reported a fourth quarter 60 percent profit. But with Verizon getting the iPhone, let's see how Q1 turns out.

5. Sun Microsystems

Body count: 18,401

The tech giant eliminated 6,000 positions in an effort to reduce annual costs up to $800 million. CEO Jonathan Schwartz reportedly claimed the cutbacks were necessary to cope with “global economic realities.” That's another way of saying the company isn't trying to go bankrupt. Oracle would soon purchase Sun Microsystems and more layoffs would follow.

4. NEC

Body count: 20,000

Japan's third-largest chipmaker suffered a net loss of $3.2 billion in 2009 due to a global slump in semiconductor sales and other smaller businesses, which meant terminations all across the board with a majority coming from the chip, electronic-component, and LCD sectors. Each job cut came with a price tag and the company would fall into the red in 2010, even after merging with competing chip-maker Renesas. Looks like NEC acronym does stand fors: Never Ending Costs.

3. IBM

Body count: 30,000

Big Blue once believed in a “hire, never fire” policy in the early 90's, but the technology firm has went back on its mantra, taking a more unethical approach to its layoff process. In 2008, IBM fired 215 employees without any notice, yet it reported a record $103 billion in revenue and $14 billion in cash flow. What's up with that? A 20 percent decrease in hardware sales would welcome more layoffs in the sales and software department a year later. IBM has since resorted to outsourcing its workload and looks to possibly layoff 300,000 globally by 2017.

2. Verizon

Body count: 39,000

In 2010 the second largest phone company reported fourth quarter losses of $653 million thanks to slow FiOS TV sales, low contract acquisitions, and decreasing residential phone service. An increase in customer contracts and strong sales courtesy of Motorola's Droid smartphones helped Verizon end the year strong. But with the iPhone 4 heading to the network this month, analysts are worried about the phone's higher subsidies hurting Verizon's ability to increase profits. But with all the excitement surrounding the Verizon iPhone release, we can't see it doing anything but helping the bottomline.

1. HP

Body count: 47,540

Former HP CEO Mark Hurd, who resigned in 2010 because of a sexual harassment scandal, established a cost-cut structure that involved acquiring info-tech consulting firm EDS and laying off what he referred to as 24,000 “redundant” employees in 2008. In the same year HP reported Hurd's personal earnings at $42.5 million, which included a $1.45 million salary and $23.9 million bonus. Quarterly revenue losses led to other high-cost employees and customer service reps being replaced by cheaper alternatives—outsourcing and automated computer centers.