The wave of tech layoffs that has battered the industry for more than two years shows little sign of slowing, with Oracle and Salesforce slashing hundreds of positions across California and Washington this week, according to reports.
In filings with state regulators, the two software giants disclosed plans to eliminate more than 500 jobs in the Bay Area and nearly 200 in the Seattle region. Salesforce is cutting 262 roles in San Francisco, while Oracle is eliminating 254 jobs spread across Redwood City, Pleasanton and Santa Clara. The reductions are set to take effect around November 3 and have been described as permanent.
The cuts aren’t confined to California. In the Seattle area, Salesforce has let go of 93 employees across its Bellevue and Seattle offices, while Oracle has trimmed 101 jobs in the city. Both companies have framed the layoffs as part of a restructuring process aimed at redirecting resources toward growth priorities.
“We continuously assess our structure and rebalance as needed to best serve our customers and fuel growth areas,” a Salesforce spokesperson was quoted as saying by The Mercury News.
The fresh cuts add to a mounting toll. Since 2022, Oracle has slashed 744 jobs in the Bay Area, while Salesforce has axed more than 1,450 positions in the region, according to state records.
Across the broader tech sector, the story is similar. Amazon, Microsoft, F5 and T-Mobile are among the firms that have announced repeated workforce reductions this year. Industry watchers point to the pandemic-era hiring boom and the enormous costs of building out artificial intelligence infrastructure as key drivers of the downsizing.
Microsoft alone has laid off over 15,000 workers globally since May, while pouring more than $80 billion into AI over the past year — spending it intends to increase in the months ahead.
For thousands of tech workers in hubs like San Francisco and Seattle, the AI gold rush is translating into pink slips.
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