Managing Layoffs in Nigeria: What the “MAGNIFICENT 7” and Other Tech Giants Should Know

Today’s business world is a survival of the fittest, characterized by economic downturn, excess manpower, negative implications of technological expansion, and revenue decline during which employers may be left with no choice, but to lay off employees as a measure to stay afloat or fiercely compete. Sadly, the “Magnificent 7” and the world’s largest tech companies are not immune from these harsh, but inevitable drivers of business decisions leading to workforce reductions. Magnificent 7 is an acronym whose origin is derived from the acronym “FAANG” coined by CNBC’s “Mad Money” host, Jim Cramer sometime in 2013.

FAANG represented a group of high-performing and prominent technology companies: Facebook, Amazon, Apple, Netflix, and Google (now known as Alphabet). However, the FANG companies subsequently metamorphosed into the buzzword- Magnificent 7, comprising Apple, Microsoft, Alphabet, Amazon, Nvidia, Tesla, and Meta.

The Magnificent 7 and most tech companies often operate a global hierarchical structure, cross-functional in nature and product-orientated. The parent company is usually headquartered in the United States or the United Kingdom, run by global Heads/Managers reporting to a global Chief Executive Officer (CEO), while subsidiaries or divisions are incorporated in regions where the products are accessed by users such as Europe, Asia and Africa. The result of this is a centralized system of decision-making and standardized output across all value chains including Human Resources (HR) functions who are at the core of “hire and fire”. Statistics have shown that in 2023, layoffs across the planet have yet again cost tens of thousands of tech employees their jobs; this time, the workforce reductions have been driven by the biggest names in tech such as Google, Amazon, Microsoft, Yahoo and Zoom. A vast majority of their employees in Nigeria have not been excluded from the impact of the layoffs which are more often than not, dictated by the global management execs of these mega companies.