BIG TECH LAYOFFS MAY BE A LONG-TERM CARNAGE

T is indeed ironical that when Amazon's Black Friday sales across the world have turned live for Christmas, Amazon founder Jeff Bezos goes public warning consumers to conserve cash and postpone buying goodies such as refrigerators, TVs and cell phones.

- GURBIR SINGH

Bezos' message in a recent CNN interview: "....If we are not in a recession right now, we are likely to be in one very soon.

If you were going to make a purchase, maybe slow down that purchase a little bit." What seems like a sales harakiri, is a carefully modulated campaign to get people to expect worse. Amazon has announced it will lay off 10,000 people in corporate and technology jobs just ahead of the Christmas holiday season. The company has also launched huge cost-saving moves like winding up its home delivery robot Scout. In India, Amazon is shutting down its EdTech platform and refunding students' fees.

The bottom line says it all. Though third quarter net sales increased 15% to $127 billion, Amazon's operating income fell to $2.5 billion, nearly half of $4.9 billion in the same quarter last year.

Recession looms

Big Tech, the darling of investors and job-seekers, is in trouble; and no one knows when the carnage will end. Industry watchers say more than 137,000 white collar jobs in 850 tech companies have gone up in smoke and thousands more are on the line. Some companies have performed badly; others are gearing up to face an imminent recession that could last as long as 2 years.