What are all these people doing here?
CNBC commentator and host Jim Cramer had some tough views against the tech sector and he shared them on Jan. 19 segment of the business channel's "Squawk on the Street."
"Tech is ridiculous at 27% of the S&P," Cramer said. "With numbers that are coming down across the board. I don't want to be in tech. Tech is a fool's game."
Tech layoffs were big news in the fourth quarter, with more than 97,000 jobs being axed in 2022, according to a report from Challenger, Gray & Christmas, up 649% from the prior year.
Cramer criticized Amazon (AMZN) CEO Andy Jassy for not firing enough workers.
Amazon said in November that it would layoff about 10,000 workers, following a weak holiday revenue forecast in the previous month and slowing growth in its Web Services business.
In an updated announcement on Jan. 4, the company raised that number to more than 18,000,
"He hired 300,000 people," Cramer said. "What are they doing? What are they doing besides organizing?"
Cramer Says Tech has 'Inventory Problem'
Cramer then asked co-host David Faber "will you get as fired up as I am?"
Meanwhile, Microsoft said it would slash around 5% of its global workforce, and take a $1.2 billion charge against its second-quarter earnings, as the cloud and tech giant looks to "align costs" with customer demand.
"Microsoft was just classic yesterday," Cramer said. "It was up two bucks on the news that it was firing people. And then people said 'wait a second, maybe business isn't that good' and then it was down three."
"It was very much like what I regard as a false start and it was a 5-yard penalty, except it was a $5 penalty and they walked it back," he added.
Microsoft took some flak for hosting an event in Davos, Switzerland during the World Economic Forum where Sting was the attraction hours before the layoffs were announced.
"Tech is doing not well and they haven't addressed it," Cramer said. "And there's the inventory problem across the board, including staff. There's too many companies that analyze data, that can get you out of the vertical, put you in the vertical, put you on-premise, put you off-premise. Are you kidding me?"
Earlier this month, Microsoft's CEO Satya Nadella said the tech industry should be prepared for the next two years to face more challenges and roadblocks before it recovers.
