The Worst Countries to Get Laid Off Revealed
In an ever-evolving world, the impact of economic instability and industry transformations can be felt far and wide, especially when it comes to seeking new opportunities through job search.
Twitter sacked more than half of its company workforce last year when its former CEO, Elon Musk, took over the tech giant. A further 200 employees were made redundant at the start of 2023. Both Meta and Amazon have also announced layoffs of over 10,000 employees this year.
From major layoffs at Google, Apple and Microsoft to small fintech startups, it’s clear that in recent years there has been a surge in company layoffs across the globe. That’s why, having the right company search criteria – that cater to your specific needs – can go a long way when it comes to avoiding job loss further down the line.
To address the pressing concerns surrounding job loss and the growing rate of redundancy, we decided to take a look back at the Global Layoffs Report from 2022 to show how much the rate of layoffs has changed in the past year.
By analyzing global data we uncover the countries with the best laws in place to protect employees, as well as other factors such as average redundancy pay, to reveal the best and worst countries to be made redundant.
How Has the Global Layoff Report Changed One Year Later?
Last year, we saw Puerto Rico take first place as the worst country when it comes to layoffs, with a measly score of just 1.07 out of 10. On the other end of the scale, Sierra Leone topped the list with a total score of 8.8 out of 10 – this begs the question, which countries will come out on top this year?
We also saw the multinational automobile, Ford grab the top spot as the company that laid off the most employees in 2022 after dropping a massive 8,000 jobs in a bid to increase profits.
This year, we not only reveal where in the world has the most layoffs, but we also take a closer look at the countries with the highest overall employment rates as well as the US tech companies that have laid off the most employees.
The Worst Countries for Layoffs
-
Puerto Rico – 0.53/10
Once again Puerto Rico tops the list as the worst country for layoffs, this year with just 0.53 out of 10, an even lower score than previously. According to the country’s law, employees aren’t entitled to any form of severance pay for redundancy dismissal, even after working at a company for over 10 years.
-
New Zealand – 0.92/10
Compared to last year, New Zealand has climbed its way up the rankings from fourth place to take the spot as the second worst location to be laid off, with a score of 0.92 out of 10.
Though the country offers unemployment protection after one year of employment, there is no legal guarantee of receiving severance pay even after a decade of employment. However, that being said, New Zealand has one of the lowest rates of unemployment of just 3.4%. This means that you don’t have to worry too much about having a lack of job opportunities.
3. Austria – 1.10/10
A land-locked country located in South-Central Europe, Austria takes third place. Though it offers a notice period of 2.0 weeks for redundancy dismissal after one or more years of employment, the country has no law that guarantees severance pay to employees.
-
Djibouti – 1.10/10
Located in the Horn of Africa, Djibouti ranks in joint third place with a score of 1.10 out of 10. Up from fifth place last year, the country has a high unemployment rate of 27.9% making it harder for those searching for work to land good job opportunities. Djibouti also offers no unemployment protection after one year of employment.
The Best Countries for Layoffs
-
Sierra Leone – 9.19/10
Sierra Leone takes the crown once again as the country with the best redundancy laws, with last year’s rating of 8.8/10 increasing r to an impressive 9.19/10. Located on the southwest coast of West Africa, Sierra Leone provides employees with at least one year of employment a notice period of as much as 13 weeks.
To top it off, the average severance pay for redundancy dismissal for workers with one, five and 10 years of tenure is 62.5 weeks. Employees of 10 years get a whopping 132 weeks of severance pay.
-
Gambia – 9.13/10
Although Gambia didn’t make it on the list last year, it grabs second place with a total score of 9.13/10. Said to be the smallest country within mainland Africa, Gambia offers all employees at least one year of employment a 26-week notice period and severance pay for redundancy dismissal.
-
Laos – 8.09/10
A landlocked country in Southeast Asia, Laos completes the top three. Though it also didn’t make it onto the list last year. The country has gone up in rank with a score of 8.09/10.
Laos provides employees who have worked for a company for a year or longer with a notice period of 6.4 weeks. Whilst the average severance pay is 27.7 weeks, employees of 10 years can get up to 52 weeks. The country also has an unemployment rate of just 2.6%.
Countries with the Highest Unemployment Rates
-
South Africa
Unemployment rate: 32.9%
When it comes to the country with the highest unemployment rate, South Africa takes the lead with 32.9%. Despite its high unemployment rate, the popular holiday destination offers employees a number of important employee rights.
South Africa has a notice period of 4 weeks for redundancy dismissal. The country also provides a severance pay of 5.3 weeks on average for workers with either one, five or 10 years of employment.
-
Angola
Unemployment rate: 29.6%
Located on the west-central coast of Southern Africa, Angola ranks in second place with an unemployment rate of 29.6%.
Although it has a high rate of unemployment, the country’s law demands that employers must give a notice period of 4.3 weeks if you have been in employment anywhere from one to 10 years. Angola also offers an average of 13.6 weeks of severance pay for redundancy dismissal.
-
Bosnia and Herzegovina
Unemployment rate: 29.0%
With an unemployment rate of 29% Bosnia and Herzegovina complete the top three. Situated in Southeastern Europe, the country offers a 2 week notice period for redundancy dismissal if you have been an employee for at least one year.
However, employees who have worked for their company for five years receive 7.2 weeks severance and those with 10 years can receive as much as 14.4 weeks severance.
Countries with the Lowest Unemployment Rates
-
Qatar
Unemployment rate: 0.1%
With an unemployment rate of just 0.1%, Qatar is crowned as the best country for employment on our list. The Western Asian country also provides an 8.7-week notice period for redundancy dismissal for workers of five to 10 years in employment. Those who have worked in a company for 10 years can receive severance pay for up to 30 weeks.
-
Cambodia
Unemployment rate: 0.4%
Cambodia follows behind with an unemployment rate of 0.4%. Not only does the country offer employees of 10 years a 13-week and a 21.4-week severance pay notice period for redundancy dismissal but on average workers with one, five and 10 years can receive 11.4 weeks severance pay.
-
Niger
Unemployment rate: 0.5%
A landlocked country in West Africa, Niger ranked in third place with an unemployment rate of just 0.5%. Niger offers a 4.3-week notice period for redundancy dismissal for employees with one or more years of employment. The country’s average severance pay is 9.7 weeks.
Companies That Have Announced the Most Layoffs in 2023
-
British Telecom (BT Group)
Industry: Telecommunication
Number of layoffs (2023): 55,000
Whilst last year we saw the popular automobile company, Ford, top the list for the most lay-offs, this year British Telecom (also known as BT Group) takes first place. With a whopping total of 55,000 expected layoffs, the UK telecommunications giant will cut its workforce by an estimated 42% between 2028-2030.
-
UBS Group
Industry: Banking & Financial Services
Number of layoffs (2023): 35,000
Next up is the UBS Group. Founded and based in Switzerland, the multinational investment bank and financial services company have plans to cut more than half of its subsidiary’s workforce. An estimated 35,000 employees within the Credit Suisse Group will bear the brunt of the cuts, in London, New York and Asia.
-
Amazon
Industry: eCommerce
Number of layoffs (2023): 27,000
Amazon has announced an extra 9,000 expected lay-offs on top of its previous round of more than 18,000 employees made redundant, making a total of 27,000 workers facing layoffs. The eCommerce giant has plans to make cuts to its cloud computing, advertising, human resources, and Twitch units.
US Tech Companies That Laid off All Their Employees in 2023
When it comes to the US tech companies that have laid off their workforce, there are a plethora of businesses that top the list this year, some of which include Buzzer, Lunya and MediaMath among many more.
The primary reason for this is due to many of these tech companies shutting down, resulting
in 100% of employees being made redundant.
For instance, the sleepwear startup, Lunya, filed for bankruptcy whilst the mobile streaming startup, Buzzer is set to shut down all operations despite having raised funding from the likes of sports stars such as Micheal Jordan and Kevin Durant.
US Tech Companies That Have Laid off Most of Their Employees in 2023
-
Pear Therapeutics
Percentage of company layoffs – 92%
Industry – Software, Biotech
HQ – Boston, MA
The prescription digital therapeutics company, Pear Therapeutics, tops the list as the US tech company to have laid off most of its employees in 2023. This is said to be part of the company’s overall operations restructuring.
Just last year, Pear Therapeutics reportedly laid off 25 employees which constituted 9% of the company. This year, the figure has risen to a whopping 92% after 170 employees were reportedly made redundant.
-
Uniphore
Percentage of company layoffs – 76%
Industry – Artificial intelligence, machine learning
HQ – Palo Alto, CA
Headquartered in Palo Alto, California, Uniphore is a conversational automation technology company with offices across the globe including the United States, Singapore, India, Japan, Spain, and Israel.
Despite raising an impressive $400 million, the unicorn start-up Uniphore has reportedly laid off 76% of its global workforce so far. In a bid to implement cost-saving measures, last year the company started a product called Beehive.
-
Parler
Percentage of company layoffs – 75%
Industry – Social media
HQ – Nashville, TN
After reportedly laying off an estimated 60 employees, resulting in a 75% cut in its company staffing, Parler takes third place. Headquartered in Nashville, Tennessee, the social media company was forced to lay off the majority of its staff including company executives such as its chief technology, operations, and marketing officers.
3. Mojo Vision
Percentage of company layoffs – 75%
Industry – AR, healthcare
HQ – Saratoga, CA
In joint third place is Mojo Vision also with 75.00% company layoffs. The dramatic cut to the company’s headcount comes as a result of the California-based firm announcing that it would be “decelerating” work on one of its projects, the Mojo Lens, citing, “significant challenges in raising capital.”
Methodology
To find out which countries have the most lay-offs we used sources such as The World Bank, looking at several factors from the redundancy cost section.
These factors include the notice period for redundancy dismissal for a worker with 1,5 and 10 years of tenure (weeks of salary) as well as the severance pay for redundancy for 1,5 and 10 years of tenure (weeks of salary). Data collection for this section was completed on 10/07/2023.
The information for the redundancy rules was also taken from The World Bank which looks at a list of rules regarding dismissal due to redundancy based on each country’s law. Data collection for this was also completed on 10/07/2023.
The total average in weeks of salary for these years was also taken into account along with the unemployment rate. The overall layoff rating was then given to each country based on a combined ranking calculated from all of the combined factors. This was completed on 14/07/2023.
Figures for the unemployment rates across all countries were sourced from Trading Economics, taking into account the most recent data available. Data collection for this section was completed on 11/07/2023.
The data for the companies that have announced the most employee layoffs in 2023 was taken from Intellizence. Data collection for this section was completed on 14/07/2023.
Using the Crunchbase Tech Layoffs Tracker we gathered data on the US companies that have made the most job cuts in 2023. Data collection for this section was completed on 14/07/2023.
