Seems, economic uncertainties are taking toll on employee’s job security. It is found, tough economic climate is forcing various companies towards cutting their workforce to fight recession, drop in demand and cost cutting. 

IT sector is no different from other sectors, where HP, Nokia, Sony, Cisco etc. cut headcount to cope up with the slowdown pressure in recent times. Here are some major instances from the tech industry where employees faced the brunt for their employer’s misfortunes.

HP: 25,000 jobs in 2012

In order to reduce costs and help the company contends with reducing demand for computers and services, Hewlett-Packard has recently announced to cut as many as 25,000 jobs. 25,000 jobs are equal to HP’s 8 percent workforce.

However, out of 25, 000 job cut, some may come through early-retirement packages.

Sony: 10,000 jobs in 2012

In an attempt to avoid a fourth consecutive financial year ending in a loss, Sony Corp announced to reduce its global workforce by 6 percent cuts in April 2012. 6 percent workforce is equal to nearly 10,000 jobs. 

Besides this layoff, early back in December 2008, Sony had announced to cut 16,000 workers after the global financial crisis affect demand for Sony’s electronics products.  The company has not managed to make any profit since then. However, after four straight years of losses, Sony hopes to see an operating profit next year.

Nokia-Siemens: 17,000 jobs in 2011

Nokia has announced its tie-up with Siemens Communications in April 2007 to compete against Ericsson and Huawei Technologies Co. However, after facing stiff competition globally in the network infrastructure segment, Nokia-Siemens is struggling to become profitable firm.

In November 2011, Nokia –Siemens venture reduce its 74,000 strong workforce by 17,000 people, including 2,000 in India. The 17,000 job cut is equivalent to 23 percent workforce. 

Cisco Systems: 6,500 jobs in 2011

In July 2011, Cisco announced to eliminate about 6,500 jobs, or 9 per cent of its full-time workforce as part of a massive restructuring plan. The networking giant aimed to cut $1 billion from its operating expenses through layoffs and stimulate profit growth.

Eventually, Cisco’s 6,500 layoffs turned out to be one of the highest for an American tech company for the entire year.

Let’s hope, time ahead would be favorable for industry and the companies will start again their recruitment drive very soon. However, it is difficult to say anything for now.