It has been a year of layoffs by Big Tech players across the world — and in sync with that, major IT companies in India too have almost stopped hiring. According to a report by staffing agency Xpheno, the active job postings from FAANG companies Facebook (Meta), Apple, Amazon, Netflix and Google (Alphabet) as well as Microsoft are currently under 2,000 in India.
FAANG is an acronym used in reference to the stocks of the five tech companies Facebook, Amazon, Apple, Netflix and Alphabet (the G refers to Alphabet's core company Google). Jobs that have been posted by hiring companies in the last four weeks and for which applications are being accepted are active job postings.
Data collected by Xpheno suggests that the active job opening by the FAANG companies was at 4,000 in mid-October and at 9,000 in August 2022. Meanwhile, the total number of active listed openings globally is currently under 35,000 across the Big Tech players and their affiliates.
“The current active numbers are down by nearly 95 percent compared to the typical active hiring volume from this cohort in India. Closing numbers a quarter ago were already down by over 70 percent and this has escalated to over 95 percent. On a comparative scale, the current hiring action is nearly a total pause amidst the macro economic developments,” the report added.
Over the last five months, Xpheno has tracked active job postings by FAANG on both external and internal platforms. Hiring activity in these firms ranges from 'low' to 'nearly none,' according to the staffing agency.
When it comes to numbers globally, according to data by layoffs.fyi, 964 tech companies have laid off more than 1.4 lakh employees. Among the big names, Twitter has laid off 3,700 employees, Meta 11,000 employees, Amazon 10,000 employees and Netflix has fired about 450 employees so far in 2022. Intel, Google and Microsoft also announced layoffs.
Apart from layoffs, most of the tech companies also announced a hiring embargo. While Microsoft, Amazon and Meta have already announced hiring freezes, Apple is planning to slow hiring in 2023, as reported by Bloomberg in June. According to Xpheno, factors causing the decline in tech spending include everything from dismal market conditions throughout most of the world to the approaching prospect of a global recession.
The staffing agency’s data further highlighted that active job openings at the Big Tech companies in India are in the areas of engineering, operations, program and project management functions.
Meanwhile, active onboarding and hiring have been low across leadership roles, product marketing, digital media, video production, program & product management, among others.
When it comes to all active job postings, Xpheno’s report for the month of November, titled ‘Active Jobs Outlook Highlights – November 2022,’ highlighted that last month, the figure of active job postings was 16 percent higher from October 2022.
