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The Week Ahead

Monday — Amazon Prime Video now includes ads, beginning January 29th.
Tuesday — Mega cap Earnings: As the S&P 500 officially enters a bull market, all eyes turn to the "Magnificent Seven" stocks for key market developments.
Wednesday — The beginning of Black History Month starts today.
Thursday — February 2 is Groundhog Day.
Friday — The first monthly jobs report of 2023 arrives at the end of the week. The market awaits.

TikTok's Sundance Debut

TikTok's hitting up Sundance for the first time, wanting to create buzz in the beehive state and see how young Hollywood sells its movies and TV shows.

• Creators in the Mix: Over the weekend TikTok's brought in creators , like Cinema Joe and Maddi Koch, to Sundance. They're in for screenings, red carpets, and of course, the parties

• Cold Content.Catherine Halaby, TikTok's entertainment head, wants to help creators step up their game in the industry with new deal making.

• Festival Vibes: TikTok's no stranger to festivals, having teamed up with Cannes in 2022. They're hoping to catch the eyes of filmmakers and studios, urging them to think outside the box for killer promotions. And it's not just about dance—TikTok is securing exclusive, behind-the-scenes peeks.

Tech starts the year with a fury of layoffs

In 2023, the tech industry experienced a wave of layoffs, with a significant number of employees being let go from various companies, including startups. This trend has continued into 2024, with several high-profile layoffs being announced. Despite the hope for a turnaround, winter is coming and more layoffs are expected.

• Flexport- The logistics company with 2Bilion inunding Has slashed its workforce by 20%.

• Microsoft to lay off 1,900 video-game workers.

• Swiggy, the Indian food delivery startup is cutting about 400 jobs, or nearly 7% of its workforce.

• Salesforce slashes 700 jobs are expected to be completed by the end of the 2024.

• Riot Games laid off 11% of its workforce, which amounts to approximately 530 roles.

• Brex is cutting 20% of its workforce and shaking up senior management ranks in a new effort to slash its cash burn.

• Vroom is shutting down its online used car marketplace, laying off 800 employees, or 90% of its workforce.

Is AI to blame?

Tech industry layoffs have surged in January 2024, with over 20,000 employees laid off as companies shift their focus to investing in artificial intelligence . Analysts predict that more layoffs are on the horizon as tech giants like Google and Amazon prioritize AI spending. Despite the layoffs, the industry is experiencing a hiring frenzy in AI, creating new roles while displacing others.

Whats next?

Despite being profitable and having recovered from the pandemic,big tech are initiating a new wave of layoffs. Experts suggest this trend is driven by a "herding effect" where layoffs positively impact stock prices, making companies reluctant to stop.

The phenomenon is described as "copycat layoffs," with one company's downsizing leading others to follow suit to maintain cost discipline and please investors.