Full Video Transcript Below:
J.D. DURKIN: Alright. Let’s get you caught up on a few of the biggest stories that we are following for you at TheStreet. Starting with smartphones, in what is typically a hot time for smartphone sales, recent data shows that global smartphone shipments plunged nearly 20% in the fourth quarter alone. According to market research firm IDC, a total of 1.2 billion smartphones were shipped in 2022. That represents a figure not seen since 2013. Data shows that consumers were more cautious than ever, with a majority waiting an average of 40 months to update their devices. The slump comes as no surprise as economic uncertainty and inflation continue to weigh on consumer demand.
And a bit more bad news for the tech industry. Layoffs do continue to mount. Tech firms IBM and SAP excuse me, now becoming the latest firms to announce job cuts in what they say is an effort to reduce costs amid a slowing economy. IBM announced plans to slash close to 4,000 positions. That represents 1.5% of its total workforce, which is expected to set the company back $300 million in severance costs. And German software giant SAP making a similar move, laying off 2,800 employees or 2.5% of its global workforce. This comes just a few days after Google (GOOGL) – Get Free Report and Microsoft (MSFT) – Get Free Report announced plans to lay off 12,000, and 10,000 workers, respectively.
And finally, despite these layoffs, recent data from Indeed shows that tech jobs are still, in fact, red hot. Yes, they are. In the company’s annual list of top jobs, eight of the top 10 listed are jobs in the tech space, meaning demand for tech workers doesn’t really seem to be going anywhere anytime soon. While it seems kind of backwards, in many cases tech layoffs are a result of companies attempting to right size after over hiring during the early days of the COVID pandemic. You always got to compare the number of layoffs here to how many positions were added since early 2020 to get a better glimpse in the full story there itself.
