For the second time since December, Pinterest (NYSE:PINS) laid off employees yesterday. In total, the Pinterest layoffs affected roughly 150 of its workers.
In recent months, layoffs have been carried out by many tech companies that thrived during the pandemic and have been much less successful since fears about the coronavirus greatly eased. Pinterest appears to be in that category.
The Pinterest Layoffs
Since December, the firm has eliminated roughly 150 jobs or less than 5% of its workforce, Bloomberg reported this morning. Confirming the dismissals, a company spokeswoman said that they “further set us up to deliver against our company priorities and our long-term strategy.”
Other Tech Layoffs
Other tech companies that thrived during the pandemic and have done less well in recent months have laid off many employees since late last year. Among the names in that category are Amazon (NASDAQ:AMZN), Meta (NASDAQ:META), Spotify (NYSE:SPOT), and Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOG, NASDAQ:GOOGL).
According to one source, “We’ve now seen over 76,000 tech layoffs in 2023 so far.” There are reportedly about 12 million tech employees in the U.S. out of an estimated 159.6 million total positions in the U.S.
While a number of companies outside of tech, including Goldman Sachs (NYSE:GS), Rivian (NASDAQ:RIVN), and General Electric (NYSE:GE) have carried out layoffs in recent months, weekly jobless claims have remained historically low so far this year.
Pinterest’s Activist Investor and Its CEO
In 2022, activist investor Elliott Management obtained a 5% stake in PINS and a seat on its board. Activist investors often push companies to cut costs.
Last June, former PayPal (NASDAQ:PYPL) COO Bill Ready became Pinterest’s CEO.
On the date of publication, Larry Ramer held long positions in GE and RIVN. The opinions expressed in this article are those of the writer, subject to the InvestorPlace.com Publishing Guidelines.
