Here’s How Fired Workers Of Meta, Byjus, Twitter Are Fighting Back

November 16, 2022

Just till 8th November, more than 8,000 employees were laid off by various tech companies from the beginning of the month. This clearly shows that Byjus, Twitter, and Meta aren’t the only companies that have fired their employees. This has become a huge trend within the technology sector.

Every tech company, be it huge or small, has been laying off their employees or not hiring new employees during this period. The reasons are the effects of the pandemic or a decreasing economic graph. Till October, approximately 45,000 workers were laid off by the US tech sector as per Crunchbase.

Recent companies to gather headlines for mass lay-offs include Meta, Twitter, and Byjus. Around 15,708 Indian employees lost their jobs and they refuse to stay shut about the issue.

A Look At The Statistics

The last few months have proven to be difficult for workers in the tech sector as firms are firing workers ruthlessly. Byjus and Unacademy, renowned edtech firms, have cut around 100 jobs, while Twitter has fired almost half of their employees in India. Even Meta cut 13% of the 87,000-strong Indian workforce.

Also Read: Why Are Indian Startups Laying Off In Bulk Right Now?

These mass lay-offs have annoyed the workers and they have turned to social media to show their aggression and dissatisfaction. They are using different platforms like Twitter to talk about layoffs, LinkedIn to find new jobs, and WhatsApp to connect with their colleagues, be a support, and share information with journalists.

How They Are Fighting Back

Now, people don’t consider terminations a taboo like it was before. Unlike in the past, people are openly talking about being laid off. Pritha Dutt, a development sector professional said, “Today, layoffs and downsizing have become accepted business practices, so terminations are no longer a taboo topic.”

One of the fired Twitter employees said, “Always a Tweep never a Twit,” referring to Elon Musk’s Twitter bio. While the other wrote, “Got fired without even a confirmation email. There’s always a new low.”

In fact, Musk fired one of the veteran engineers, Eric Fraunhofer for arguing with him and correcting him on Twitter. However, the worker wasn’t affected by this. He didn’t receive any formal mail or message, but his laptop went shut and he is unable to use it now.

In Thiruvananthapuram, 140 Byjus employees said that they were allegedly forced to resign. To protest, they went on a protest and also met Kerala’s chief minister who later said that the matter would be taken care of.

What Experts Say?

Over the years, workers from Amazon, Starbucks, etc., have made unions to support each other and protest against the wrong deeds of the companies. Experts believe that these unions will grow and spread across different sectors.

But Prof. Sripada doesn’t agree. “The proliferation and strengthening of trade unions need not become the norm, as workplaces have already become more conscious about adopting progressive, people-centric policies,” he said.

He said, “Unions are a product of bad people management. When employers fail, unions rise. Employers today have the benefit of hindsight so the responsibility lies with them to make people management the centre of business.”

However, he said that if companies keep ruthlessly laying off employees and being insensitive towards them, then unions might grow and protest against the injustices.

Image Credits: Google Images

Feature image designed by Saudamini Seth

Sources: India Today, Free Press Journal, BBC

Find the blogger: Palak Dogra

This post is tagged under: mass layoffs, Twitter layoff, Meta layoff, Byjus layoffs, mass lay off trend, tech firms, tech sector, industrial sector, Elon Musk, Jeff Bezos, tech companies, global layoffs, employees, workers

Disclaimer: We do not hold any right, copyright over any of the images used, these have been taken from Google. In case of credits or removal, the owner may kindly mail us.