Five sectors facing layoffs amid economic uncertainty and high inflation

Concerns about the state of the economy come with worries about job security. In fact, half of companies are expecting to cut staff according to a PwC survey of more than 700 executives. The same survey found many executives are also planning hiring freezes and even rescinding job offers. But many companies have already trimmed their workforce. Here are the sectors facing layoffs in this week’s Five For Friday.

#5: Mortgage and real estate

The housing market has cooled after the COVID-19 pandemic-induced smorgasbord over the last few years. And as the Federal Reserve raises its interest rate, causing home loan rates to climb, overall mortgage demand has fallen to its lowest point in two decades. Mortgage lender LoanDepot has let go of 2,800 employees this year and announced another 2,000 layoffs are on the way. Real estate firm Redfin also announced it would cut 8% of its staff this year amid falling demand. Meanwhile, big banks JPMorgan Chase, Citigroup and Wells Fargo have shed hundreds of mortgage broker positions.

#4: Fintech

Fintech was really having a moment the past couple of years and where there is a boom, there will likely be a bust. Retail trading platform Robinhood, which has faced some controversy in recent years, laid off 23% of its staff in August. The company’s CEO Vlad Tenev blamed low trading volume, spiking inflation and the ongoing crypto winter as the reasons for the cut. On the cryptocurrency side, Coinbase let go of 18% of its team while the Winklevoss twins-founded Gemini released 7% of its staff after cutting 10% earlier this year.

#3: Retail and ecommerce

Consumer spending was flat for July, and without growth, retailers are tightening their belts. Bed Bath & Beyond announced last week it is closing 150 stores and laying off 20% of its 32,000 employees. Wayfair, which thrived at the height of the COVID-19 pandemic, is cutting 870 jobs. Ecommerce platform Shopify will also slash 10% of its workforce as the sector loses steam.

#2: Streaming

Over the last few years, major distributors and networks have been racing to launch their own streaming services as linear television faces demise. With more players in the game, there is much more competition. After Netflix lost subscribers for the first time, the streaming giant let go of 475 employees. And Warner Bros. Discovery is in the process of cleaning house: After shutting down CNN+, they cut 70 positions at HBO Max and even dropped a number of top executives at the Oprah Winfrey Network.

#1: Tech and Social Media

More than 28,000 tech workers have been laid off this year, according to analysis from Crunchbase. Microsoft said it would lay off around 1% of its 180,000 employees due to concerns about growth in the fourth quarter of this year. Meanwhile, Google CEO Sundar Pichai recently warned of potential layoffs. On the social media front, Snap Inc. got rid of 20% of its team, Facebook is reportedly letting go of contractors at random using an algorithm and TikTok has been shedding employees amid worldwide restructuring.