Layoff announcements

Canada's top broadcaster BCE announces 1,300 job cuts and the closure or sale of nine radio stations in a major reorganization, citing dwindling audiences, slumping advertising and a regulatory environment too slow to adapt.

In an open letter, Bell's chief executive Mirko Bibic and other executives said its news operations lose Can$40 million (US$30 million) each year and the profitability of its radio business has been cut in half over recent years.

The industry, they said, has been impacted by the continued migration of advertising revenues to digital platforms such as Google and Meta, and a decline in broadcast audiences as streaming services become ever more popular. — AFP

British mobile phone giant Vodafone on Tuesday says it planned to axe 11,000 jobs over the next three years as new chief executive Margherita Della Valle seeks a "simpler" organisation.

"Our performance has not been good enough. To consistently deliver, Vodafone must change," Della Valle said in a statement.

"We will simplify our organisation, cutting out complexity to regain our competitiveness," added Della Valle, appointed CEO on a permanent basis at the start of May after five months as interim boss. — AFP

One of Vietnam's largest shoe manufacturers for brands such as Nike and Adidas will cut thousands of workers at the end of next month, blaming a slump in orders, state media says Saturday.

The country is among the world's largest exporters of clothing, footwear and furniture, but has been badly affected by the cost-of-living crisis in Europe and the United States, with the buying power of worldwide consumers shrinking.

PouYuen Vietnam, a unit of Taiwan-based Pou Chen Group, told local authorities it would lay off almost 6,000 workers with permanent contracts from the end of next month, VNExpress reports. — AFP

Morgan Stanley is planning to cut more jobs after reporting a drop in profit during the first three months of the year, US media reported on Monday.

The bank aims to trim its headcount nearly 4 percent this quarter after ending March with more than 82,000 employees, according to the reports.

The US investment and financial services giant said in a recent earnings report that its profit dropped 20 percent in the first three months of this year amid a slowdown in mergers and acquisition advising.

The global financial institution at the end of last year trimmed about 2 percent of its staff or some 1,600 positions, CNBC reported at the time.

The new round of cuts is expected to involve about 3,000 jobs. — AFP

Facebook owner Meta announces a fresh wave of job cuts, part of what CEO Mark Zuckerberg called the company's "year of efficiency" as the US tech sector continues to downsize.

In an email to employees, Zuckerberg says Meta would shed 10,000 jobs over the next few months, targeting middle management, and that 5,000 other roles would remain unfilled. 

The cuts follow a cull of 11,000 positions announced by the company in November that started a wave of similar jobs cuts across big tech companies, including Amazon, Google and Microsoft, but not Apple. — AFP

Reports of more layoffs at Twitter landed as owner Elon Musk waded into a racism controversy that risked pushing advertisers further away from the struggling platform.

Musk called US media "racist" on Sunday after multiple American newspapers announced they would stop publishing a popular comic strip whose creator called Black people a hate group.

Musk, chief of electric car company Tesla and Twitter, made his comment in regard to backlash to a rant by Scott Adams, creator of the long-running "Dilbert" comic strip -- a satirical take on office life. — AFP

Telecom equipment maker Ericsson says it would slash 8,500 jobs worldwide, part of a cost-cutting program as financial headwinds push operators to rein in spending.

Ericsson, which had a total of 105,000 employees at the end of 2022, last month posted disappointing full-year 2022 earnings, as operators slow spending on rolling out the latest 5G networks due to the global economic slowdown and rising inflation.

The Swedish company said most of the layoffs would be implemented in the first half of 2023 and the rest in 2024, as it accelerated its $860 million cost saving plan announced late last year. — AFP

Global consulting giant McKinsey plans to let go 2,000 of its employees, Bloomberg News reports.

The round of layoffs would be one of the company's biggest ever, according to Bloomberg, which says the firm had increased headcount from 28,000 to 45,000 over the past five years. 

Citing anonymous sources, Bloomberg says the number of employees affected could still change, and are expected to primarily target administrative staff who do not interact directly with clients. — AFP

One of Vietnam's largest shoe manufacturers for major brands such as Nike and Adidas will cut thousands of workers at the end of the month due to a slump in orders, according to local authorities.

PouYuen Vietnam, a unit of Taiwan-based Pou Chen Group, will lay off 3,000 factory workers and will not renew the contracts of 3,000 others because of "very few production orders in 2023", according to a Ho Chi Minh City labour department document obtained by AFP on Monday.

Vietnam, one of the world's largest exporters of clothing, footwear and furniture, has been badly affected by the cost-of-living crisis in major markets in Europe and the United States, with the buying power of worldwide consumers plunging.

PouYuen is commercial capital Ho Chi Minh City's largest employer, with around 50,000 employees. — AFP

US automaker Ford says Tuesday it would cut 3,600 jobs in Britain and Germany and 200 elsewhere in Europe, citing the need to be "leaner" as competition in electric cars grows.

The company says 2,300 positions in product development and administrative functions would be slashed in Germany and 1,300 in Britain. -- AFP

Disney CEO Bob Iger announces that the company would lay off 7,000 workers, in the veteran executive's first major decision since returning to lead the company in November. 

"I do not make this decision lightly. I have enormous respect and appreciation for the talent and dedication of our employees worldwide," Iger says on a call to analysts after Disney posted its latest quarterly earnings. — AFP

The company behind the Zoom video conferencing platform -- which became a household name during the pandemic -- announces it is laying off about 15% of its staff.

Zoom Video Communications chief executive Eric Yuan is also taking a 98% cut in salary this year and forgoing his executive bonus, he says in a blog post about the job cuts.

He adds that members of his executive leadership team are taking a 20% salary reduction and also forfeiting bonuses this year. — AFP

Read the latest news and updates on mass layoff of companies.

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