Alphabet and online retailer Wayfair on Friday became the latest tech stocks to rally after issuing massive layoff announcements to help curb costs ahead of a potential recession—a phenomenon analysts believe will continue throughout the year, boosting market values but potentially pushing millions of people into unemployment.
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Heading up gains on Friday, Wayfair stock skyrocketed more than 22% after the firm announced it will cut 10% of its global workforce, representing some 1,750 employees, “to be more agile” amid reduced sales, said CEO Niraj Shah, who lost his billionaire status as shares collapsed 80% last year.
Shares of Alphabet similarly posted gains, jumping nearly 5% and adding more than $50 billion in market value, following the tech giant's decision to lay off 12,000 workers on Friday, with CEO Sundar Pichai telling employees the company spent too much after "dramatic growth" during the pandemic and "hired for a different economic reality than the one [faced] today."
In a Friday email, Wedbush analyst Daniel Ives said he expects more tech layoffs will be a "major theme" throughout the earnings season, as Silicon Valley shifts into cost-cutting mode to help prepare for a potential recession following a decade of "hyper growth" that pushed many firms to overload on spending.
Ives went on to say the headcount cuts in the tech sector are "the first major step" toward stabilizing the crop of recently struggling stocks, pointing out shares of Meta have skyrocketed about 50% since the firm announced in November it would cut more than 11,000 jobs, and predicting tech stocks as a whole will surge about 20% this year.
Oanda analyst Edward Moya expects the theme will spread across other sectors throughout the year, with banking giant Capital One on Friday becoming one of the first non-tech firms to announce massive layoffs, reportedly scrapping 1,100 tech positions and boosting shares more than 4% on Friday.
Other stocks rallying after recent layoff announcements include Amazon, which is up 15% since announcing it would commence job cuts earlier this month, and Coinbase, which has climbed nearly 40% since its layoffs on January 10.
خلفية رئيسيةانهارت أسهم التكنولوجيا العام الماضي حيث بدأ رفع أسعار الفائدة من قبل الاحتياطي الفيدرالي في إبطاء الاقتصاد في محاولة لترويض التضخم ، مما أدى بشكل فعال إلى عكس عدد كبير من مكاسب الأسهم الضخمة التي عززتها جهود التحفيز الحكومية أثناء الوباء. بعد ارتفاعه بنسبة 22٪ في عام 2021 ، انهار مؤشر ناسداك الثقيل للتكنولوجيا بنسبة 33٪ في عام 2022 ، وهو أسوأ بكثير من انخفاض مؤشر S& P 500 بنسبة 19٪. ووسط هذا الضعف، خفضت الشركات الكبرى أكثر من 100 ألف وظيفة العام الماضي، مع تكثيف عمليات التسريح في الأسابيع الأخيرة. ويوضح مويا أن "إعلانات التسريح الضخمة ستوقف ضغوط الأجور من الارتفاع" ، مشيرا إلى أن الاتجاه يجب أن يدفع التضخم مرة أخرى نحو هدف بنك الاحتياطي الفيدرالي بحلول نهاية العام. 0
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