Communications of the ACM
Tech Startups Laid Off 69,000 Workers Amid COVID-19 Outbreak
Tech startups laid off more than 69,000 employees between March and July due to the COVID-19 pandemic, according to data gathered by BuyShares.co.uk.
Layoffs at startups have surged in the last few months. In March, the number of employees who had been laid off amounted to 9,628, according to Statista and Layoffs Tracker data. In the next 30 days, this number jumped by nearly four times, reaching 36,244 by the end of April. Statistics show the number of job losses continued rising, reaching almost 62,000 in May. Since then, another 7,645 jobs were lost, with the combined number hitting 69,623 last week.
Hardest Hit
With more than 14,600 job losses in this period, the tech startups in the transportation industry have taken the hardest hit. The finance industry ranked as the second-most affected sector, with 8,466 startup employees losing their positions.
Startup companies in the travel sector had to lay off 8,198 workers due to coronavirus outbreak, ranking as the third-most affected industry. Statistics show startups from retail, food, and consumer industry had to cut down more than 19,100 workplaces in the last four months. The real estate, fitness, and marketing industry follow with 3,503, 3,022, and 2,631 displaced workers, respectively.
Bay Area Affected
Analyzed by geography, the startups from the San Francisco Bay Area have been the most affected by the COVID-19 outbreak, with more than 25,500 displaced workers between March and July.
The Layoff Tracked data also revealed that Uber Technologies laid off most employees since the COVID-19 outbreak. The San Francisco-based ride-hailing company cut a total of 6,700 jobs between May 6 and May 18.
With 2,800 laid-off employees or 40% of its staff, Groupon ranked second on this list. Statistics show Airbnb had the third-largest layoff amid the outbreak. The company cut 1,900 jobs on May 5, or 25% of its staff.
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