Overnight Opinions: The Coming Recession

Thanks for listening to Overnight Opinions, a weekly news roundup on the Ladies Love Politics channel. Here you’ll get current events blended with spicy commentary directed at our elected leaders.
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Music: Hang for Days - Silent Partner https://youtu.be/A41A0XeU2ds

2023 is shaping up to be a shit sandwich, and every day we're going to take a little bite.  

It’s been said when your neighbor loses his job, it's a recession, but when you lose your job, it's a depression. But we might get both next year. 

The economic outlook is bleak. We’re facing some financial constraints that will be big - if not unprecedented. Right now, we’re on nothing more than borrowed time. We’re spitting fumes. As 2022 comes to a close, businesses got busy laying off employees or planning to lay off employees. So, let’s go back and review these… altogether it paints a scary picture. 

Goldman Sachs eliminated 4,000 jobs (8% of workforce).
Morgan Stanley cut nearly 1,600 jobs (2% of employees). 
Rumor has it Google will lay off 10,000 people next year (6% of workforce).
Amazon is expected to layoff 10,000 (1% of workforce). 
Meta laid off nearly 11,000 employees (13% of workforce) and has initiated a hiring freeze through the first quarter of 2023. 
Online payments processor Stripe has laid off nearly 1,100 employees (14% of its staff).  
Salesforce cut hundreds of jobs. 
Microsoft laid off nearly 1,000 Employees (< 1% of workforce). 
Tech company DocuSign cut nearly 700 employees (9% of workforce).
Disney has put a hiring freeze  in place. 
Redfin shut its home-flipping business and cut nearly 900 jobs (13% of workforce).
Ride share company, Lyft, cut nearly 700 jobs (13% of workforce).
Netflix cut more than 300 jobs (3% of workforce). 
Snap will lay off nearly 1,000 people (20% of workforce).
Shopify trimmed nearly 1,000 jobs (14% of workforce).
Coinbase eliminated nearly 1,100 positions (18% of workforce).
Robinhood experienced two rounds of layoffs, which resulted in loss of more than 1,000 employees (⅓ of workforce). 
HP will cut 6,000 employees (10% of workforce). 
Tesla is cutting 10,000 jobs (10% of workforce). 
Walmart gutted a couple hundred of their from corporate offices. 
Apple laid over 100 recruiters - a foreshadowing to their current hiring freeze. 

Not only are we seeing layoffs, but a lot of store closures, too. CVS is in the middle of a 3 year stint to close 900 stores (10% reduction). Walgreens is in the process of closing 200 stores. Bed, Bath, & Beyond is closing 150 stores. Both Family Dollar and Dollar General are beginning to close some stores. Sally Beauty is getting rid of 350 stores. In the last 6 years, Walmart closed nearly 160 locations. Are more on the way? Perhaps, according to CEO, Doug McMillon, he says that store closures are inevitable if theft doesn’t slow down. They lose around $3 billion of inventory every year (1% of revenue). Target is experiencing the same problem - a rise in theft. They blame organized retail crime for losing $400 million of inventory last year. They expect that to rise to $600 million next year. The overall retail apocalypse is far from over. UBS estimates that 40,000-50,000 stores will close in the next five years. 

Individually, it’s sad for the people left without a job. Taken all together, it's a macabre indicator for the U.S. Walmart, Amazon, Apple, and CVS Health are the four largest companies in the country. They’re experiencing mass layoffs, store closures, or hiring freezes - or a combination of these. 

Hear that, it’s the sound of the Great Reset coming to fruition. 

REFERENCES
LAYOFFS: 
https://finance.yahoo.com/news/week-morgan-stanley-layoffs-goldman-163649262.html
https://www.cnbc.com/2022/12/16/goldman-sachs-is-planning-to-cut-up-to-8percent-of-its-employees-in-january.html
https://www.businessinsider.com/goldman-sachs-layoffs-job-cuts-up-to-8-percent-2022-12
GOOGLE: 
https://www.ndtv.com/world-news/in-tech-layoff-season-google-preps-for-a-purge-too-target-set-at-10-000-3543779
https://www.businesstoday.in/technology/news/story/google-ready-to-layoff-10000-employees-heres-what-ceo-sundar-pichai-said-356299-2022-12-14
AMAZON
https://www.zerohedge.com/markets/amazon-plans-cut-10000-employees
META
https://www.nytimes.com/2022/11/09/technology/meta-layoffs-facebook.html
SALESFORCE
https://www.cio.com/article/411558/salesforce-announces-hundreds-of-job-cuts.html
STRIPE
https://www.cnbc.com/2022/11/03/stripe-plans-to-lay-off-14percent-of-workers.html
https://www.cio.com/article/411558/salesforce-announces-hundreds-of-job-cuts.html
MICROSOFT
https://www.cnbc.com/2022/10/18/microsoft-confirms-job-cuts-after-calling-for-growth-to-slow.html
DOCUSIGN
https://www.cnbc.com/2022/09/28/docusign-to-cut-workforce-by-9percent-as-part-of-restructuring-plan.html
DISNEY
https://www.cnbc.com/2022/11/11/disney-plans-hiring-freeze-job-cuts-memo-says.html
REDFIN 
https://www.cnn.com/2022/11/09/homes/redfin-job-cuts-home-flipping-shutdown
LYFT
https://www.cnbc.com/2022/11/03/lyft-cuts-13percent-of-its-workforce.html
NETFLIX
https://www.cnbc.com/2022/06/23/netflix-lays-off-300-more-employees-as-revenue-growth-continues-to-slow.html
COINBASE
https://www.cnbc.com/2022/06/14/coinbase-lays-off-18percent-as-execs-prepare-for-recession-crypto-winter.html
SHOPIFY
https://www.cnbc.com/2022/07/26/shopify-sinks-12percent-after-company-plans-to-lay-off-10percent-of-workers.html
SNAP
https://www.cnbc.com/2022/08/30/snap-will-lay-off-20percent-of-staff.html
ROBINHOOD
https://www.cnbc.com/2022/08/02/robinhood-cutting-about-23percent-of-jobs.html
TESLA
https://www.cnbc.com/2022/06/03/heres-the-email-elon-musk-sent-all-tesla-employees-10percent-job-cuts.html
HP:
https://fortune.com/2022/11/22/hp-inc-layoffs-thousands-of-employees-decling-sales-economy/
WALMART
https://www.cnbc.com/2022/08/03/walmart-lays-off-corporate-employees-after-slashing-forecast.html
Walmart to close stores if thefts don’t stop 
https://www.businessinsider.com/walmart-ceo-stores-will-close-if-theft-at-retailer-doesnt-decline-2022-12
APPLE
https://www.forbes.com/sites/jackkelly/2022/08/18/apple-lays-off-100-recruiters-this-is-an-ominous-harbinger-of-whats-coming-next/?sh=246287a06623
STORE CLOSURES 
https://www.businessinsider.com/walmart-ceo-stores-will-close-if-theft-at-retailer-doesnt-decline-2022-12
https://www.the-sun.com/money/6588396/urgent-warning-walmart-closes-stores/ https://www.cnn.com/2021/11/18/investing/cvs-store-closures https://bestlifeonline.com/walgreens-cvs-closing-nov-2022-news/ https://www.usatoday.com/story/money/shopping/2022/09/16/bed-bath-beyond-stores-closing-full-list-by-state/10397433002/
https://bestlifeonline.com/sally-beauty-closing-stores-news/
https://www.cnbc.com/2022/04/13/ubs-50000-retail-store-closures-in-us-by-2026-after-pandemic-pause.html
https://www.businessinsider.com/walmart-ceo-stores-will-close-if-theft-at-retailer-doesnt-decline-2022-12
https://fortune.com/fortune500/