Tag: workforce reduction

  • Legal & General Plans 10% Workforce Reduction by Mid-2027 in Business Simplification Push

    Legal & General Plans 10% Workforce Reduction by Mid-2027 in Business Simplification Push

    Legal & General (L&G) has confirmed plans to cut around 1,000 roles, representing about 10% of its workforce, by mid-2027 as part of a sweeping business simplification programme. The insurer and pensions group said the restructuring will streamline operations, reshape business units, and sharpen its focus on areas with the strongest growth potential.

    Voluntary Redundancies First

    Group Chief Executive António Simões informed employees of the proposal on Wednesday. The company will begin by offering voluntary redundancy packages in the UK, and it may move to compulsory job cuts if too few staff take up the voluntary scheme. L&G said unions would be consulted throughout the process.

    In his message to staff, Simões explained that structures, processes and working practices developed across L&G over the past decade had left the organisation “more complex than we need to be.”

    What the Cuts Mean for L&G’s Divisions

    The asset management arm, which manages about GBP 1.2 trillion globally, will be excluded from the programme after completing its own restructuring last year. The latest reductions are expected to fall mainly on group functions and the company’s life insurance and pensions businesses.

    Simões’ Simplification Strategy

    Simões, who joined L&G as group chief executive on 1 January 2024 after senior roles at HSBC and Santander, said the company has spent the past two and a half years simplifying the group around three core businesses.

    Recent strategic moves include the sale of L&G’s US protection business to Japan’s Meiji Yasuda for USD 2.3 billion. Under the transaction, Meiji Yasuda also acquired a 20% economic stake in L&G’s US pension risk transfer unit and a 5% stake in the group. L&G has also abandoned plans for a China license and begun the sale of housebuilder Cala.

    Job Cuts Come After Strong Results

    The redundancy plan follows stronger half-year results announced in August. Core operating profit rose 7% to GBP 918 million, while core operating earnings per share increased 11%. The Solvency II coverage ratio stood at 201%, above the company’s 160%-190% operating target.

    A GBP 1.2 billion share buyback is underway, and L&G expects to return more than GBP 5 billion to shareholders between 2025 and 2027. The company has not yet disclosed expected savings, restructuring costs, or the timing of financial benefits from the job cuts.

  • Etsy Lays Off 220 Employees to Streamline Product and Engineering Operations

    Etsy Lays Off 220 Employees to Streamline Product and Engineering Operations

    E-commerce marketplace Etsy has announced plans to eliminate approximately 220 jobs, representing roughly 10% of its workforce, as part of a major organizational restructuring led by CEO Kruti Patel Goyal. The layoffs primarily affect employees in product, engineering, design, research, and analytics teams. According to the company, the move is intended to streamline decision-making, improve collaboration, and accelerate product development rather than reduce costs.

    More Focused Structure Needed: CEO

    In a message to employees, CEO Kruti Patel Goyal stated that Etsy is redesigning its organizational structure to remove complexity and create smaller, more agile teams. She noted that the company has grown significantly over the years, leading to overlapping responsibilities and slower execution across key business functions. The reorganization is expected to reduce the number of management layers and improve coordination between engineers, product, and design departments. Management hopes the restructure will enable Etsy to deliver new features faster and respond more quickly to changing market demands.

    Etsy Seeks Long-Term Growth

    This move comes at a time when Etsy is trying to build on its marketplace after experiencing sluggish consumer spending and reduced demand for discretionary items in some key markets. The company has been under pressure from shifting shopping behaviors and increased competition from other online players. Etsy stated that the restructuring is designed to position the company for its next phase of growth by improving operational efficiency and increasing the speed at which products are developed and delivered. Affected employees will receive severance packages, extended healthcare benefits where applicable, career transition assistance, and support in finding new employment opportunities.

    Focus on Innovation and Marketplace Expansion

    Etsy emphasized that it remains committed to investing in its marketplace, seller tools, and customer experience. The company plans to develop new features that help independent sellers connect with buyers and provide an improved search and discovery system. Unlike cost-saving measures, Etsy’s latest steps are strategic actions aimed at simplifying internal processes and enhancing effectiveness as the global e-commerce industry becomes increasingly competitive.

  • ServiceNow Cuts Hundreds of Jobs While Ramping Up AI Hiring

    ServiceNow Cuts Hundreds of Jobs While Ramping Up AI Hiring

    ServiceNow has eliminated several hundred positions as part of a global restructuring, even as the company accelerates recruitment for artificial intelligence roles. The software firm confirmed the workforce reductions but declined to provide exact figures, describing the cuts as affecting a “low single-digit” percentage of its workforce. CEO Bill McDermott had previously indicated that headcount would remain broadly flat through 2026, allowing the company to trim certain roles while adding AI-focused talent.

    At the end of 2025, ServiceNow employed 29,187 full-time workers, with 14,601 in the United States and 14,586 overseas. The company has not disclosed how the latest layoffs are distributed between domestic and international operations. ServiceNow said the reductions occurred over several months rather than as a single, sweeping announcement, and it has not released a detailed schedule of affected offices or teams.

    Some employees described receiving sudden separation notices with little warning. One Reddit user reported that a notice arrived in a personal email account at 6:53 a.m., with July 28 listed as the final working day and September 28 as the formal termination date. Another employee in Dublin recounted a morning call about possible layoffs during which organizers disabled cameras and audio and hid the attendance list. A consultation period was promised, with more details to follow by email. ServiceNow has not publicly confirmed these individual accounts.

    Other unverified claims on Reddit suggested that the layoffs could eventually affect around 3,000 workers globally, with teams in India facing early action. ServiceNow has not confirmed that figure.

    The restructuring comes as ServiceNow shifts its hiring focus toward AI-related skills. The company recently raised its annual subscription revenue forecast after stronger demand for AI-based software. Second-quarter subscription revenue reached $3.88 billion, and adjusted earnings came in at 90 cents per share, meeting or exceeding market expectations.

    ServiceNow’s cuts are part of a broader trend in the technology industry. Layoffs.fyi has tracked more than 120,000 job losses in 2026, with companies citing restructuring, cost controls, changing demand, and AI investment as reasons for workforce reductions.

    ServiceNow has not provided a full breakdown by country, department, or seniority level, nor has it released detailed severance terms for all affected workers. In some regions, employees may enter consultation processes before final decisions are made. The company continues to hire for selected roles while reducing positions in other business areas.

  • HDFC Bank Stock Slips 1% as AI-Led Job Cuts Fuel Earnings Scrutiny

    HDFC Bank Stock Slips 1% as AI-Led Job Cuts Fuel Earnings Scrutiny

    HDFC Bank shares traded near Rs. 810 during Tuesday’s afternoon session, reflecting cautious investor sentiment ahead of the lender’s June-quarter (Q1 FY27) earnings. The stock’s 1% decline comes as the market digests news of the bank’s AI-driven workforce reduction, which saw headcount shrink by 3,343 employees during FY26.

    The workforce cut, detailed in HDFC Bank’s FY26 Annual Report, is part of a broader operational overhaul that uses artificial intelligence and automation to streamline routine banking tasks. Unlike traditional layoffs focused solely on cost reduction, the bank is redeploying employees into customer-facing and advisory roles where human interaction remains critical.

    Investors are now weighing the potential long-term benefits of this digital transformation against near-term profitability concerns. The number of managers responsible for customer interaction and business decision-making has increased, suggesting the bank is reshaping its workforce rather than simply shrinking it.

    Market sentiment is also being shaped by governance issues that surfaced earlier this year. An independent legal review found no evidence to support allegations made after the resignation of part-time Chairman Atanu Chakraborty, but the episode highlighted the importance of corporate governance in maintaining investor confidence.

    All eyes are now on the upcoming Q1 earnings report, which will provide the first clear indication of whether AI investments are beginning to improve operating margins and cost efficiency without compromising customer service. Key metrics to watch include loan growth, deposit generation, net interest margins, operating expenses, and asset quality.

    If earnings show that efficiency gains are genuine and scalable, HDFC Bank’s AI-led strategy could emerge as a competitive advantage. Conversely, any signs that automation is hurting customer experience or revenue growth could keep the stock under pressure.

    HDFC Bank’s transformation represents a broader shift in Indian banking, where AI is moving from experimental to operational cornerstone. The June-quarter results will be pivotal in determining whether technology, governance, and finance can align to drive the next phase of growth.

  • Reddit Claim That Claude Fable 5 Replaced 90% of Developers Reignites AI Layoff Debate

    Reddit Claim That Claude Fable 5 Replaced 90% of Developers Reignites AI Layoff Debate

    A Reddit post alleging that a software services company laid off nearly 90% of its development team after embracing artificial intelligence has triggered a heated debate over AI’s growing role in the workplace.

    While the claims have not been independently verified, the post has resonated with developers concerned about how rapidly generative AI is reshaping the tech industry.

    The anonymous developer claimed that their mid-sized services company reduced a department of around 70 software engineers to just eight employees, with executives reportedly citing productivity improvements from Claude Fable 5 as the reason behind the decision.

    “Nearly the entire team of ~70 laid off citing efficiency from Claude Fable, 8 of us remain. This is insane,” the Reddit user wrote.

    According to the post, the company had employed a large number of developers before 2023 but had not hired any new engineers since 2025. The employee said the decline in client projects had already suggested difficult times ahead, but the scale of the layoffs still came as a surprise.

    “The writing was already on the wall because the number of projects drastically reduced, but today morning I got to know they laid off over 90% of the dev team,” the developer added.

    Employee Says Executives Believe AI Can Handle Remaining Workload

    The Reddit user further claimed that company executives told the remaining employees that Claude Fable 5 would enable the reduced team to manage all ongoing projects.

    “CXOs basically saying Claude Fable 5 is enough for those of us remaining (supposedly the top performers) to handle the projects the company has left,” the employee wrote.

    The post also reflected growing anxiety among software professionals. The developer admitted they had once dismissed AI as ‘just fancy autocomplete,’ but said recent advances in large language models had significantly changed their outlook, raising concerns about long-term career security.

    Reddit Users Question AI Explanation

    The post drew mixed reactions from Reddit users. Some questioned whether AI alone could realistically replace dozens of software engineers, arguing that the costs of running advanced AI models would be substantial.

    However, others noted that the layoffs could be triggered by poor business performance rather than AI. One contributor who self-identifies as a CTO stated that sometimes corporations use the implementation of AI as an excuse for laying off employees, rather than mentioning the actual business or financial difficulties.

    On the other hand, some developers advised laid-off programmers to develop higher-level skills, such as software architecture, product design, testing, and requirements gathering. They claimed that although AI can speed up programming, experienced programmers were still necessary to create, review, and maintain robust software systems.

    Even though the Reddit thread was not verified, it once again sparked debate on whether generative AI replaces software engineers or serves as an excuse for cost-cutting efforts in the tech sector.