Since the last time we gave an update at the beginning of the month there have been 20,171 layoffs at tech and media companies added to our Layoff Tracker. That brings the total to 58,709 tech layoffs over the past two and a half months. You can mouse over the iChart above to get a sampling of some of the companies that are downsizing.
One previously unreported layoff we have been able to confirm is 10 people at classifieds search engine Oodle, which occurred last week and represents a 20% reduction. Another layoff happened at Rearden Commerce, which trimmed about 40 people, or 10 percent (and Rearden just raised $100 million, showing that no company is immune).
The biggest layoff this month was announced just today by Sun Microsystems, which will be reducing its headcount by 5,000 to 6,000 (15 to 18 percent). Other big tech companies also announced cuts earlier this week, including Applied Materials (1,800 layoffs), Nokia Siemens Networks (750), and National Semiconductor (330).
The big tech and media companies account for the biggest number of layoffs, but when you look at the percentage of total employees being laid off, startups are cutting just as deep if not deeper. For instance earlier this month, Spot Runner cut about 30 percent of its staff (115 people), Dash Navigation eliminated 65 percent (55 people), and BitTorrent got rid of 50 percent (18 people). This past week we saw a 38 percent cut at Jobster (15 people) a 15 percent cut at Metacafe (11 people), a 10 percent cut at Current TV (40 people), and the complete shutdown of CBS Interactive’s Juke (5 people).
If you know of any layoffs at a tech company, please submit a tip with the name of the company and number of layoffs. If it’s been covered, also send a link to the blog post or news article. (For those more interested in who is hiring, check out our job board).
