Globally, the tech industry has recorded a wave of layoffs fueled by the COVID-19 pandemic and the harsh economic climate. Apart from the economic crisis, the tech layoffs have been linked to the need to shift towards technological advancements like artificial intelligence (AI).
According to a McKinsey report published in 2017, at least 400 million jobs would be displaced by 2030 due to the emergence of automation, driven in part by AI and robotics.
This prediction was confirmed by a CNN report, which states that about 10% of US workers are in jobs at risk of being overtaken by evolving artificial intelligence.
According to a report by Business Financing UK and data analysed by Layoffs.fyi, the largest tech company layoffs worldwide over the past four years occurred in various countries and continents, varying in terms of the number of employees affected during this period.
The table below reveals the top 10 tech layoffs in Africa during the period;
Since 2020, the African technology industry has experienced significant job cuts, particularly affecting major e-commerce platforms such as Jumia and Alerzo, which have collectively laid off over 1,000 employees.
Nigeria was at the forefront of this trend, with Jumia, an online retailer, letting go of 900 employees in a single instance, the largest workforce reduction by any tech company in Africa. Following closely behind, Alerzo, a Nigerian B2B e-commerce firm, eliminated 400 positions, and fintech company Renmoney cut 391 employees.
Techcrunch reported that the global tech industry continued to see layoffs in 2024, with approximately 60,000 job cuts across 254 companies. The most significant layoffs occurred in April 2024, totalling 22,153 job losses.