This week has been a hard-hitter for BigTech, with Amazon, Apple, and Google-owner Alphabet all posting disappointing financial results.

Apple's quarterly revenue was down by five per cent to $117 billion, while sales at Alphabet were slightly below expectations.

Sales across Amazon’s international business declined by eight per cent to $34.5 billion in the final quarter of 2022.

Across the whole of 2022, the company recorded a net loss of $2.7 billion compared with profits of $33.4 billion.

“In the short term, we face an uncertain economy, but we remain quite optimistic about the long-term opportunities for Amazon,” said Andy Jassy, Amazon chief executive, commenting on the financial results.

He added that the company is “optimistic” about what the future holds.

The disappointing figures come after $200 billion was wiped from the Amazon's valuation last year when it anticipated a slowdown in growth during the holiday season.

Amazon also recently revealed that it would kick-start its biggest wave of job cuts in the company's history.

In early January, Jassy told employees in a public staff note that the company would lay off more than 18,000 workers. Later in the month it began axing roles across the US, Canada, and Costa Rica.

In a quarter marked by extensive layoffs, Meta also announced a profit drop of 55 per cent.

Meta chief executive Mark Zuckerberg said that during the pandemic, the surge in e-commerce and resulting revenue growth had led the business to increase investment, as he thought it would continue after the pandemic ended.

Fellow tech giant's Microsoft and Alphabet have also followed suit in announcing plans for major job cuts.

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