An Unexpected California Company is Now Laying Off Hundreds

June 28, 2024

An unexpected California company is now laying off hundreds, part of its latest effort to cut costs and streamline operations.

California-based Earth observation company Planet, has announced the layoff of 180 employees, or approximately 17% of its workforce.

On June 26, the SEC revealed the filings confirming the company’s decisions.

“This action was taken consistent with the company’s ongoing focus on aligning the company’s resources to the market opportunity, improving operational efficiency, and supporting the long-term growth and profitability of the business,” the filing stated.

Planet, which is headquartered in San Francisco, is renowned for its ambitious mission to image the entire Earth daily, using its constellation of satellites to monitor changes and identify emerging trends.

This marks the second major round of layoffs for Planet in less than a year.

In July 2023, the company cut 117 jobs, roughly 10% of its workforce at the time, citing similar reasons for the reduction.

The repeated downsizing underscores the financial and operational challenges faced by companies in the tech and space sectors, even as they pursue innovative and large-scale projects.

Planet’s services, which include detailed Earth imagery for various applications ranging from agriculture to disaster response, remain crucial in multiple industries.

Despite these layoffs, the company aims to continue its mission, leveraging its technology to provide valuable data and insights worldwide.

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Also Read: Retirees Will Now Receive More Money For Social Security

Other Economy News Today

Applications for unemployment benefits now surge to new highs, a sign that the white-hot labor market is starting to cool off.

First-time applications for unemployment benefits rose last week to 231,000, the highest level since August, per CNN.

Thursday’s data also showed that the number of continuing claims, or applications from people who have filed for unemployment for at least one week, was 1.78 million.

That’s an increase of 17,000 from the prior week, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics.

The latest numbers come less than a week after the monthly jobs report showed the US economy added just 175,000 positions in April, less than economists expected and a steep drop-off from prior months.

US employers have now added an average of 245,500 jobs per month, versus 2023’s 251,000-per-month average.

Still, hiring remains strong. Although the unemployment rate ticked up to 3.9% last month, it’s the 27th consecutive month that the jobless rate has held under 4%, matching a streak last seen in the late 1960s.

Weekly jobless claims data tends to be volatile but, while one week’s worth of data “does not a trend make,” said Chris Rupkey, chief economist at Fwdbonds.

“We can no longer be sure that calm seas lie ahead for the US economy if today’s weekly jobless claims are any indication.”

“Company layoffs are picking up, hinting at caution on the part of companies as they weigh the outlook for the second half of the year,” he wrote in a note Thursday.

The Federal Reserve has been battling inflation by raising its key lending rate in the hopes of slowing the economy.

While the labor market has so far resisted those efforts, remaining white hot for the past 18 months despite 11 rate hikes from the central bank, Fed Chair Jerome Powell said last week that demand has “cooled from its extremely high level of a couple of years ago.”

Ian Shepherdson at Pantheon Economics said in a note Thursday: “We’d need to see at least a month of elevated readings to convince us that the trend really has turned.”

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Also Read: A Giant Company Now Announces Unexpected Layoffs in Virginia

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