US-based software-as-a-service provider Zendesk disclosed in a filing to the Securities and Exchange Commission that it approved a plan to eliminate about 300 positions, or about 4.9% of its total global workforce, in a push to cut costs.

While not in the league of Meta, Zendesk, which provides SaaS products related to customer support, sales, and other customer communications, is a substantial player in the online business services space with 2021 annual revenues of US$1.34 billion.

2022 has turned out to be a year in which US big tech has been punished severely by the market, with shares on the NASDAQ index down more than 30% in the past year, and the word on the street is that mass layoffs across the board are expected.

Meta has had a disastrous year with shares down more than 66% for the year and Zendesk has been no exception to the downward trend, with its share price plunging more than 40% in the past three months.

The software services provider said it expects to incur about $28 million in charges related to job cuts to pay severance, employee benefits and related expenses.

The company said about $8 million of the charges will be realised in Q4 2022 and $20 million are expected to be future cash expenditures.

Zendesk said workforce reduction will be substantially complete by Q1 2023.

The biggest telecommunications companies in the US have largely escaped the down trend in the market, with both At&T and T-Mobile shares up in the past year.

Verizon, however has been an exception with shares down 27%, while 5G network builder DISH has seen its share price plunge more than 50%.