文本选自：CNN（美国有线电视新闻网）
作者：Catherine Thorbecke
原文标题：Silicon Valley layoffs go from bad to worse
原文发布时间：10 Jan. 2023
Silicon Valley layoffs go from bad to worse
Shortly before Thanksgiving, Amazon CEO Andy Jassy confirmed rumors that layoffs had begun in multiple departments at the e-commerce giant and said it would review staffing needs into the new year. On Wednesday, Jassy provided a sobering update on that review: Amazon is cutting more than 18,000 jobs, nearly double the 10,000 that had previously been reported and marking the highest absolute number of layoffs of any tech company in the recent downturn.
At Amazon and other tech companies, the second half of last year was marked by hiring freezes, layoffs and other cost-cutting measures at a number of household names in Silicon Valley. But if 2022 was the year the good times ended for these tech companies, 2023 is already shaping up to be a year when people at those companies brace for how much worse things can get.
On the same day Amazon announced layoffs, cloud-computing company Salesforce said it was axing about 10% of its staff – a figure that easily amounts to thousands of workers – and video-sharing outlet Vimeo said it was cutting 11% of its workforce. The following day, digital fashion platform Stitch Fix said it planned to cut 20% of its salaried staff, after having cut 15% of its salaried staff last year. The continued fallout in the industry comes as tech firms grapple with a seemingly perfect storm of factors. After initially seeing a boom in demand for digital services amid the onset of the pandemic, many companies aggressively hired.
硅谷裁员潮愈演愈烈
精听党背景导读
据数据显示，全球性通胀不断蔓延，美国正面临40年以来最严重的通货膨胀，在通胀高企和美联储不断加息等多重经济因素的影响下，硅谷科技大厂掀起了一股“裁员”浪潮以应对未来日益恶化的宏观经济环境。
其中，首当其冲的便是被马斯克以440亿美元收购的推特，裁员比例约占公司总人数一半以上，亚马逊、Meta等美国大型科技公司也面临着巨大的裁员压力，预计本轮科技行业裁员总数超十万人以上。
文本选自：CNN（美国有线电视新闻网）作者：Catherine Thorbecke原文标题：Silicon Valley layoffs go from bad to worse原文发布时间：10 Jan. 2023关键词：硅谷 裁员 亚马逊
精听党带着问题听
1. 亚马逊预计将裁员多少人？2. 如何理解第三段的“amount to”？3.“婴儿潮”用英语可以如何表达？
精听党选段赏析
标题解读
Silicon Valley layoffs go from bad to worse
硅谷裁员潮愈演愈烈
layoff n. 活动停止期间；临时解雇；操作停止；失业期；解雇，裁员，下岗；休养，停工期；
go from bad to worse 每况愈下，越来越糟，日益恶化；
段一
Shortly before Thanksgiving, Amazon CEO Andy Jassy confirmed rumors that layoffs had begun in multiple departments at the e-commerce giant and said it would review staffing needs into the new year. On Wednesday, Jassy provided a sobering update on that review: Amazon is cutting more than 18,000 jobs, nearly double the 10,000 that had previously been reported and marking the highest absolute number of layoffs of any tech company in the recent downturn.
rumor n. 谣言；传闻；1. Rumor has it that… 有传言说；据传；谣传；
Rumor has it that he was murdered. 有传言说他被谋杀了。
2. A little bird told me that… 有人告诉我…3. Have you heard the latest gossip? It turns out Susan is having an affair with Mike. 你听说最近的八卦了吗？原来苏珊和迈克有一腿。4. Can I count on you? 我能指望你吗？
e-commerce giant 电子商务巨头；
review vt. 仔细研究，审视；给（书、戏剧、电影等）写评论；回顾，反思；
staffing needs 人员配置需求；1. staffing n. 人事；人员配置；员工关系；安置职工；
staffing structure 员工结构；staffing shortage 人手短缺；
into prep. 延续到…；1. to continue well into the next year 一直延续到明年；2. to do sth. long into the night 做某事直到深夜；
sobering adj. 令人深思的；使清醒的；使冷静的；严重的；
absolute number n. [数] 绝对数；
downturn n. (价格或活动)开始下降，（商业经济的）下降，衰退期；1. economic downturn 经济低迷；经济不景气；经济滑坡；
参考译文
感恩节前不久，电子商务巨头亚马逊的首席执行官安迪·贾西证实了该公司多个部门已经开始裁员的传言，并表示新的一年(2023年)仍将继续重审(公司)用人需求。本周三，贾西带来了重审工作最新的重磅消息：亚马逊裁员将超过1.8万人，人数比此前报道的1万人增加了差不多一倍，在近期经济低迷的大环境下，亚马逊是所有科技公司中裁员绝对数量最多的公司。
段二
At Amazon and other tech companies, the second half of last year was marked by hiring freezes, layoffs and other cost-cutting measures at a number of household names in Silicon Valley. But if 2022 was the year the good times ended for these tech companies, 2023 is already shaping up to be a year when people at those companies brace for how much worse things can get.
mark vt. 标志（重要事件或时刻）；（特征，特点）标志，表明区别；1. to be marked by sth. 以某物为特征；
an age marked by unrest and violence 充满动荡和暴力的年代；
freeze n. 冻结；停止；冰冻期；
cost-cutting 成本削减；1. to cut prices 减价；2. to cut expenditure 削减开支；
household names 家喻户晓的名字；1. household adj. 家用的，家务的；全家人的；家喻户晓的；2. big name 名人；重要人物；众所周知的事情(或事物)；3. Are there any big names in the movie? I don't like watching films of nobody. 电影里有大明星吗？我不喜欢看无名小卒的电影。4. She's a big name in business world. I want to get her number. 她是一位商界的重要人物。我想知道她的联系方式！
shape up 顺利发展；形成；成形，表现良好；1. shape up or ship out 好好干，要不就走人；
brace for sth. 筹备；做好准备；应对…；
参考译文
在亚马逊和其他科技公司，去年下半年，硅谷许多家喻户晓的公司都在进行招聘冻结、裁员以及其他成本削减措施。但如果2022年这些科技公司的好日子已经到头了，那么2023年这些公司的员工将面临的是更糟糕的一年。
段三
On the same day Amazon announced layoffs, cloud-computing company Salesforce said it was axing about 10% of its staff – a figure that easily amounts to thousands of workers – and video-sharing outlet Vimeo said it was cutting 11% of its workforce. The following day, digital fashion platform Stitch Fix said it planned to cut 20% of its salaried staff, after having cut 15% of its salaried staff last year. The continued fallout in the industry comes as tech firms grapple with a seemingly perfect storm of factors. After initially seeing a boom in demand for digital services amid the onset of the pandemic, many companies aggressively hired.
cloud-computing 云计算；
ax vi. 削减，删除；用斧修整；解雇；=axe；
amount to 达到，总计；等于，意味着；发展成，变成；
outlet n.（情绪或精力的）发泄方式，发泄途径；排出口；商店，分销点；廉价经销店；从事大众媒体行业的公司；
workforce n.（国家或地区的）劳动力，劳动人口；（某组织或公司的）全体员工，全体从业人员；
digital fashion 数字时装，虚拟时装；
salaried adj. 有薪水的；领薪水的；（按月）领工资的；
fallout n.（核爆炸后的）放射性坠尘；（工业事故或生产过程中产生的）空气悬浮物；后果，余波；
grapple with 努力克服；
seemingly adv. 貌似，看似（但可能并非如此）；似乎，好像（是事实）；表面上看；
perfect storm 极端天气；同时发生一大堆麻烦事；1. This town was razed to the ground by a perfect storm. 极端天气将这座小镇夷为平地。
initially adv. 最初，首先；开头；
boom n. 繁荣；流行；1. baby boom 婴儿潮；2. economic boom 经济繁荣；经济蓬勃；3. business boom 商业繁荣，生意兴隆；
onset n.（尤指某种坏事情的）开始，发作；1. the onset of sth. 某事的来临；
aggressively adv. 好斗地；侵略地；攻击地；积极进取地；有闯劲地；
参考译文
在亚马逊宣布裁员的当天，云计算服务商Salesforce表示将裁减约10%的员工，这无疑会涉及到数千名员工，视频分享网站Vimeo则表示将裁员11%。第二天，数字时尚平台Stitch Fix表示，计划在去年15%的裁员基础上继续裁减20%的受薪员工(拿固定工资)。在科技公司努力应对一系列不利外在影响因素的同时，整个行业会受到持续影响。在疫情爆发初期，很多公司第一时间发现数字服务需求的飙升，纷纷大力揽才。
精听党每日单词
layoff
/'leɪˌɔf/ n. 活动停止期间；临时解雇；操作停止；失业期；解雇，裁员，下岗；休养，停工期；
go from bad to worse
每况愈下，越来越糟，日益恶化；
rumor
/ˈruːmə(r)/ n. 谣言；传闻；
e-commerce giant
电子商务巨头；
review
/rɪˈvjuː/ vt. 仔细研究，审视；给（书、戏剧、电影等）写评论；回顾，反思；
staffing needs
人员配置需求；
into
/ˈɪntu/ prep. 延续到…；
sobering
/ˈsoʊbərɪŋ/ adj. 令人深思的；使清醒的；使冷静的；严重的；
absolute number
n. [数] 绝对数；
downturn
/ˈdaʊntɜːrn/ n. (价格或活动)开始下降，（商业经济的）下降，衰退期；
mark
/mɑːrk/ vt. 标志（重要事件或时刻）；（特征，特点）标志，表明区别；
freeze
/friːz/ n. 冻结；停止；冰冻期；
cost-cutting
成本削减；
household names
家喻户晓的名字；
shape up
顺利发展；形成；成形，表现良好；
brace for sth.
筹备；做好准备；应对…；
cloud-computing
云计算；
ax
/æks/ vi. 削减，删除；用斧修整；解雇；=axe；
amount to
达到，总计；等于，意味着；发展成，变成；
outlet
/ˈaʊtlet/ n.（情绪或精力的）发泄方式，发泄途径；排出口；商店，分销点；廉价经销店；从事大众媒体行业的公司；
workforce
/ˈwɜːrkfɔːrs/ n.（国家或地区的）劳动力，劳动人口；（某组织或公司的）全体员工，全体从业人员；
digital fashion
数字时装，虚拟时装；
salaried
/ˈsælərid/ adj. 有薪水的；领薪水的；（按月）领工资的；
fallout
/ˈfɔːlaʊt/ n.（核爆炸后的）放射性坠尘；（工业事故或生产过程中产生的）空气悬浮物；后果，余波；
grapple with
努力克服；
seemingly
/ˈsiːmɪŋli/ adv. 貌似，看似（但可能并非如此）；似乎，好像（是事实）；表面上看；
perfect storm
极端天气；同时发生一大堆麻烦事；
initially
/ɪˈnɪʃəli/ adv. 最初，首先；开头；
boom
/buːm/ n. 繁荣；流行；
onset
/ˈɑːnset/ n.（尤指某种坏事情的）开始，发作；
aggressively
/əˈɡresɪvli/ adv. 好斗地；侵略地；攻击地；积极进取地；有闯劲地；
精听党文化拓展
曾经因高薪备受瞩目的码农群体，在这轮裁员潮中首当其冲。
深燃和几位亲历了硅谷裁员潮的华人码农聊了聊。从他们的视角看，这轮裁员潮是有预兆的，从2022年上半年时，裁员就开始蔓延，硅谷码农们也早已有所察觉。
这场危机下，最难的是有身份压力和经济压力的人。相当一部分华人程序员持有的工作签证宽限期只有60天，如果不能在规定期限内找到新工作，或将黯然离开。因为工作高薪而增加了杠杆的人们，背负着房贷、车贷和养家压力，当收入锐减时，处境瞬间困窘起来。一些受访者也承认，从业这些年抓住了互联网红利，但如果保守消费，面对这场裁员危机时能从容一些。
没有被裁的人，情况也没好多少。身边的人接二连三地离开，风暴没有消退，被裁员工们留下的业务还需要继续推进。
凛冬已至，硅谷裁员潮下的码农们，都在寻找自己的过冬姿势。
精听党每日美句
Do not, for one repulse, forgo the purpose that you resolved to effort.
不要只因一次挫败，就放弃你原来决心想达到的目的。