Every few months during the pandemic, a video would go viral of a Big Tech employee sharing a “day in the life” where they dined on catered lunch, treated themselves to espresso, declined a company-sponsored massage, and appeared to do…not that much work. You don’t see many of those videos anymore.

Inflation, the Fed’s interest rate hikes in response to inflation, and the subsequent slowing of the economy all played a role in 2022 marking the apparent end of the tech industry’s blistering two decade growth run. This year about 150,000 tech workers were laid off from both major companies and smaller startups—including 51,000 in November alone.

That’s a troubling figure for what had been one of the economy’s strongest growth sectors, but economists don’t expect it to spell doom for other industries. Even as tech companies downsized, the broader labor market remained strong throughout the year, with the unemployment rate ticking up slightly, to just 3.7% as of November.

Mark Zuckerberg blamed himself for his company’s pandemic overstaffing when he told employees Meta would be culling 13% of its workforce, or 11,000 jobs. After the pandemic led to Amazon’s most profitable period in history (during which the company doubled its workforce over two years, per the NYT) the tech giant announced it would cut around 10,000 tech and corporate jobs—though internal rumors put the actual number around 20,000.

• Other notable tech companies that laid off a significant portion of their workforce this year: Robinhood (31%), Snap (20%), Stripe (14%), Lyft (13%), Carvana (8%), and DoorDash (6%).
• Don’t forget crypto: About 26,000 crypto sector employees were laid off in 2022.

Another big source of tech job cuts: Elon Musk. The billionaire halved Twitter’s staff when he took control of the company, laying off roughly 3,750 employees. And back in June, he announced a 10% reduction in salaried workers at Tesla.

Bottom line: When announcing these layoffs, several tech CEOs admitted to a similar mistake—they overhired during the pandemic, believing that Covid-era trends in sectors like e-commerce, gaming, and stock trading would persist beyond the public health emergency. They didn’t.

------------------

Runner-up: AI apps

On the heels of human workers losing jobs: artificially intelligent workers gained them. In 2022, AI art apps like Dall-E and Midjourney showed us what Dr. Phil would look like as Goku, AI Time Machine showed us what we’d look like as a 19th century arctic explorer, and the chatbot ChatGPT showed us what it’d be like to have a friend with all the answers (though not always the right ones). Investors have begun to pour money into the so-called generative AI sector, believing that the technology could transform how we work and live.

Runner-up: BeReal

Another huge 2022 trend: BeReal. The photo-sharing app exploded in popularity this year—jumping from 7.7 million downloads in April to 53 million in October—for its focus on authenticity (and because famous musicians kept taking them for people at concerts). How do you know an app was successful? Instagram and TikTok both copied it.—MK

Looks like Elon Musk wasn’t the only one to lose more than a billion via Twitter this year. Kanye West managed to sink his net worth from $2 billion to $400 million, according to Forbes, by sending corporate partners running due to his antisemitic tweets and erratic behavior that only seemed to escalate any time the rapper was given a platform to speak publicly.

The cycle of controversy began in October when West, who now goes by Ye, wore a “White Lives Matter” t-shirt at Paris Fashion Week. After Sean Combs, aka Diddy, criticized the shirt, West got himself kicked off Instagram with a post that suggested his fellow rapper was being controlled by Jews. That’s when West—who hadn’t tweeted in nearly two years—took to Twitter to complain, posting that he would go “death con 3” on Jewish people.

Twitter locked his account, and the corporate fallout began.

• Fashion house Balenciaga (which would later experience its own self-imposed scandal) and talent agency CAA quickly cut ties with West, and film studio MRC shelved a completed documentary about him.
• Adidas drew backlash for not severing its relationship with West immediately, but it ultimately did—even though executives expect that killing the Yeezy line will take 250 million euros ($246 million) off its bottom line this year.
• Even companies that didn’t have deals with Kanye disavowed him. After Adidas dropped him, Skechers said he showed up at its office and had to be escorted out.

But West kept making antisemitic statements every chance he got. When sympathetic friends tried to give him a chance to redeem himself, West just dug the hole deeper. Alex Jones of Infowars (himself a notable own-goaler—see: the Sandy Hook defamation cases) interviewed West and appeared to be giving him a chance to back off his earlier comments. Instead, West doubled down, saying he admired Hitler. And after Musk let West back on Twitter, he was promptly banned again after tweeting out an image that combined a Star of David and a swastika.

Where does this leave Ye? Music remains the one area where West still has a major presence. Spotify’s CEO said it wouldn’t remove his music from the platform because the music itself, unlike the things West has said publicly, didn’t violate the streamer’s rules. West gets ~50 million listeners per month on the platform.

-----------

Runner-up: Ticketmaster botches Taylor Swift ticket sale

The ticketing site became Public Enemy No. 1 this fall after it managed to stir up the hornet’s nest that is Taylor Swift fans. When the presale tickets for Swift’s highly anticipated Eras Tour went on sale, fans trying to purchase them with special Ticketmaster-issued codes crashed the system. The presale opportunities went so poorly that the company had to cancel the planned public sales day. The outcry from disappointed Swifties drew the attention of lawmakers, who took aim at the company’s monopoly on live events. It soon emerged that even before the debacle, the Department of Justice had started investigating its parent company Live Nation’s possible abuse of power. Ticketmaster also suffered a rebuke from Swift herself, who said her team had asked “multiple times” if the company could handle the demand and was assured it could.

Runner-up: SBF talking to the media

Most people being investigated for fraud by authorities in multiple countries follow their lawyers’ advice and keep their traps shut. Not former FTX CEO Sam Bankman-Fried. He kept on talking to any news outlet that asked questions right up until he was arrested, admitting that he screwed up royally but maintaining that he had not knowingly defrauded anyone. It’s possible that all that chatter may have sped up the timeline of his arrest, since prosecutors didn’t want his “mistakes were made” narrative to gain acceptance. Maybe overconfidence kept SBF yapping away. “I don’t think I will be arrested,” the former crypto mogul said during a Twitter Spaces hours before he was taken into custody.—AR

On the first day of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, a group of guards defending a small island in the Black Sea received an ultimatum from a Russian cruiser: Surrender or get struck by a missile. Their defiant response—“Russian warship, go f*** yourself”—instantly became an iconic symbol of Ukrainian heroism in the face of the invasion. It’s also been enshrined as a wartime meme that now graces t-shirts, mugs, and even a Ukrainian postage stamp.

Many see the moment as a perfect metaphor for the conflict between Russia’s powerful war machine and the smaller, less well-equipped Ukrainian army.

Like the defenders of Snake Island, Ukraine has put up much more of a fight against the metaphorical Russian warship than Vladimir Putin expected. After almost ten months of fighting and heavy casualties on both sides, Russia was able to seize just one regional capital in Ukraine (only to lose it last month).

What happened to the actual warship? As for the literal warship involved in the incident: It was the guided missile cruiser named Moskva, the $750 million flagship of Russia’s Black Sea Fleet. And it was sunk less than two months after it was told to go f*** itself. The Snake Island defenders were initially thought to have been killed in action, but they later turned up in Russian captivity. The service member who uttered the legendary phrase came home in a POW swap and received a medal for his actions.

------------------

Runner-up: NASA smashes spacecraft into asteroid

In a rehearsal for its hero role in a disaster scenario, NASA smashed a spacecraft into an asteroid to change its path. Though Dimorphos, the small celestial body that was hit at 14,000 miles per hour, was never on a course toward our humble blue marble, the method NASA was testing could one day be used to avert an apocalyptic asteroid–Earth collision.

Runner-up: News site asks if Liz Truss will outlast lettuce, and lettuce wins

After British Prime Minister Liz Truss’s policy proposals sent international markets into a tailspin, The Daily Star tabloid launched a longevity challenge between her premiership and a head of lettuce. As the UK economy faltered, the newspaper livestreamed the produce sitting on a table next to a framed photograph of Truss. After just 44 turbulent days in power (on Day 6 of the lettuce challenge), Truss walked away from Downing Street with the lettuce still looking crisp. To be fair to the ex-PM, the lettuce had to deal with way less media scrutiny.—SK

This week, we’re resurfacing the most-clicked “Brew’s Bets” from the entire year…

From Lincoln Logs to Baby Yoda: The most popular holiday toy the year you were born.

You’re taking pills wrong: New research shows there’s a right way.

Don’t buy a vowel: This is an all-time Wheel of Fortune moment.

2022 tech roundup: Before we hit 2023, take a look back at three emerging technologies that hit an inflection point this year.

Fab collab: Bestselling sneaker brand Cariuma teamed up with Pantone to create six limited-edition sneakers. And don’t miss the sustainable and stylish OCA Low Canvas, just restocked in 15+ colors. Save 20% with code MBDEC20.*

Save up to $2k on flights: Want round trip to Spain from $312 or Hawaii from $197? Try Dollar Flight Club for only $1 to save up to 90% on flights. Ends in 12 hours.*

^{*This is sponsored advertising content.}

Brew Mini: See how far you’ve come with your Mini solving in 2022 by playing today’s puzzle and comparing it to your time from earlier this year.

Guess the skyline

This is the skyline of which US city?

Reduced staff during the holiday season can leave businesses vulnerable to cyber threats. These tips can help IT managers protect their companies.

Listen to Business Casual to hear about the business topics shaping your life. Host Nora Ali ditches the corporate jargon to bring you convos with the best in the biz.

Didn’t get what you wanted this year? Treat yourself, because Morning Brew merch is on sale for a limited time only. Shop everything from a cozy sweatshirt to coffee mugs (obvi). Shop now.

Whether you’re looking to pay off loans, save for retirement, or just get your spending in check, Money Scoop can help you manage your money, for free.