美国国家公共电台 NPR--Microsoft is the latest in a wave of tech companies to announce layoffs

Microsoft is the latest in a wave of tech companies to announce layoffs¹

Transcript²

Microsoft is cutting 10,000 jobs, or about 5% of its workforce³. It says a looming⁴ recession has forced customers to cut back on spending.

A MART?NEZ, HOST:

Microsoft is laying off 10,000 employees. It's the latest tech company to announce massive cuts to its workforce as the industry faces one of its sharpest downturns in a decade. NPR's tech reporter Bobby Allyn joins us now to discuss what's driving the slowdown. Bobby, it seems like every other day brings some other announcement about a tech company laying off staff. I mean, what's going on here?

BOBBY ALLYN, BYLINE⁵: Yeah, it really does. So if you listen to tech executives explaining the layoffs, they tend to put it this way - the pandemic set off a frenzy⁶ of new hiring. Big tech companies brought on thousands of new employees to help, you know, all of us move more of our lives online. But now that the pandemic sugar high is fading, they're looking at their headcounts and realizing they just have too many people. And in Microsoft's case, it's 10,000 too many people. But Amazon has laid off 18,000. Facebook parent company Meta has cut 11,000 positions. Twitter has reduced its staff by two-thirds. This is happening, A, across the whole industry right now.

MART?NEZ: All right. Now, that's the explanation from executives. Any other competing theories explaining why Silicon⁷ Valley is shedding so many jobs?

ALLYN: There are other theories out there. Let's take Microsoft as an example. It's not a company that's exactly hurting for money right now. In its last quarter, it reported nearly $18 billion in profits. Last year, Microsoft moved to buy video game maker⁸ Activision Blizzard⁹ for $69 billion in cash. So skeptics ask, does it really need to be slashing¹⁰ jobs right now?

MART?NEZ: So are you saying, Bobby, that some tech executives might be actually using the current moment as an excuse to lay people off when they might not really be needing to?

ALLYN: Yeah. That is one theory. I mean, now, inflation is high. And corporate¹¹ spending has slowed. But big tech should have the wherewithal to push through it, the theory goes. Now, Microsoft's cuts represent about 5% of its workforce. But it's still a lot of people to lose their jobs. There's a tech jobs data tracker called Layoffs.fi. And it found that at least 150,000 tech jobs were cut last year. This really is a stunning¹² reversal because, A, for years, for really more than a decade, the tech industry has just been on a tear, totally unchecked growth spurt¹³. And now it's just really slowing down.

MART?NEZ: So what's the job market, then, look like for the tech workers after they've been let go?

ALLYN: Yeah, so it's better than many. I mean, one survey found that 8 out of 10 techies who are laid off find a new tech job within three months of starting their search. So that does say that techies can quickly land on their feet, but surely not all of them, right? I mean, another thing to consider is that tech relies heavily on immigrant workers. And, you know, when you're on a visa that's tied to your job and you're laid off, the clock starts ticking for you to quickly find another employer sponsor. So many families are just sort of struggling right now, thinking, am I going to be laid off? And if so, is that going to cause a serious crisis?

MART?NEZ: Is there anything that can be gleaned¹⁴ off of the tech industry's slowdown right now that maybe the broader economy might be facing soon?

ALLYN: Yeah. So there are some experts who say that the tech industry's pullback is specific to Silicon Valley. But the tech world is seen as a economic bellwether¹⁵. It's a huge employer, multitrillion-dollar industry. The companies are on the cutting edge. And they intersect with just about every industry in some fashion. So honestly, A, it's hard to see a tech downturn not having some fallout for other parts of the economy. But it's just too early to say definitively¹⁶ if that's the case.

MART?NEZ: All right. NPR's Bobby Allyn. Thanks a lot for your reporting.

ALLYN: Thank you, A.

1 layoffs   

临时解雇( layoff的名词复数 )； 停工，停止活动

参考例句：

• Textile companies announced 2000 fresh layoffs last week. 各纺织公司上周宣布再次裁员两千人。
• Stock prices broke when the firm suddenly announced layoffs. 当公司突然宣布裁员时，股票价格便大跌

2 transcript   

n.抄本，誊本，副本，肄业证书

参考例句：

• A transcript of the tapes was presented as evidence in court.一份录音带的文字本作为证据被呈交法庭。
• They wouldn't let me have a transcript of the interview.他们拒绝给我一份采访的文字整理稿。

3 workforce   

n.劳动大军，劳动力

参考例句：

• A large part of the workforce is employed in agriculture.劳动人口中一大部分受雇于农业。
• A quarter of the local workforce is unemployed.本地劳动力中有四分之一失业。

4 looming   

n.上现蜃景（光通过低层大气发生异常折射形成的一种海市蜃楼）v.隐约出现，阴森地逼近( loom的现在分词 )；隐约出现，阴森地逼近

参考例句：

• The foothills were looming ahead through the haze. 丘陵地带透过薄雾朦胧地出现在眼前。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Then they looked up. Looming above them was Mount Proteome. 接着他们往上看，在其上隐约看到的是蛋白质组山。 来自英汉非文学 - 生命科学 - 回顾与展望

5 byline   

n.署名；v.署名

参考例句：

• His byline was absent as well.他的署名也不见了。
• We wish to thank the author of this article which carries no byline.我们要感谢这篇文章的那位没有署名的作者。

6 frenzy   

n.疯狂，狂热，极度的激动

参考例句：

• He was able to work the young students up into a frenzy.他能激起青年学生的狂热。
• They were singing in a frenzy of joy.他们欣喜若狂地高声歌唱。

7 silicon   

n.硅(旧名矽)

参考例句：

• This company pioneered the use of silicon chip.这家公司开创了使用硅片的方法。
• A chip is a piece of silicon about the size of a postage stamp.芯片就是一枚邮票大小的硅片。

8 maker   

n.制造者，制造商

参考例句：

• He is a trouble maker，You must be distant with him.他是个捣蛋鬼，你不要跟他在一起。
• A cabinet maker must be a master craftsman.家具木工必须是技艺高超的手艺人。

9 blizzard   

n.暴风雪

参考例句：

• The blizzard struck while we were still on the mountain.我们还在山上的时候暴风雪就袭来了。
• You'll have to stay here until the blizzard blows itself off.你得等暴风雪停了再走。

10 slashing   

adj.尖锐的；苛刻的；鲜明的；乱砍的v.挥砍( slash的现在分词 )；鞭打；割破；削减

参考例句：

• Slashing is the first process in which liquid treatment is involved. 浆纱是液处理的第一过程。 来自辞典例句
• He stopped slashing his horse. 他住了手，不去鞭打他的马了。 来自辞典例句

11 corporate   

adj.共同的，全体的；公司的，企业的

参考例句：

• This is our corporate responsibility.这是我们共同的责任。
• His corporate's life will be as short as a rabbit's tail.他的公司的寿命是兔子尾巴长不了。

12 stunning   

adj.极好的；使人晕倒的

参考例句：

• His plays are distinguished only by their stunning mediocrity.他的戏剧与众不同之处就是平凡得出奇。
• The finished effect was absolutely stunning.完工后的效果非常美。

13 spurt   

v.喷出；突然进发；突然兴隆

参考例句：

• He put in a spurt at the beginning of the eighth lap.他进入第八圈时便开始冲刺。
• After a silence, Molly let her anger spurt out.沉默了一会儿，莫莉的怒气便迸发了出来。

14 gleaned   

v.一点点地收集（资料、事实）( glean的过去式和过去分词 )；（收割后）拾穗

参考例句：

• These figures have been gleaned from a number of studies. 这些数据是通过多次研究收集得来的。
• A valuable lesson may be gleaned from it by those who have eyes to see. 明眼人可从中记取宝贵的教训。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》

15 bellwether   

n.系铃的公羊，前导，领导者，群众的首领

参考例句：

• University campuses are often the bellwether of change.大学校园往往引领变革的新潮。
• For decades the company was the bellwether of the British economy.几十年来，这家公司一直是英国经济的晴雨表。

16 definitively   

adv.决定性地，最后地

参考例句：

• None of the three super-states could be definitively conquered even by the other two in combination. 三个超级国家中的任何一国都不可能被任何两国的联盟所绝对打败。 来自英汉文学
• Therefore, nothing can ever be definitively proved with a photograph. 因此，没有什么可以明确了一张照片。 来自互联网