What's Going On With Okta Stock Thursday?

Okta, Inc OKTA stock is trading higher Thursday as it disclosed a restructuring plan to improve operating efficiencies. The plan involves a reduction of Okta’s workforce by approximately 400 full-time employees, or 7%. 

In connection with the plan, Okta looks to recognize approximately $24 million of restructuring charges in the fourth quarter of fiscal 2024. 

Okta also reaffirmed its financial guidance for the fourth quarter and fiscal year ending January 31, 2024.

Okta joins a series of tech companies reducing their workforce early in 2024, with almost 24,000 tech workers laid off in January despite rising stock prices for many firms in the sector, CNBC reports.

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CEO Todd McKinnon emphasized the need for strategic investment decisions to ensure the company’s long-term success. 

This follows a previous round of layoffs in February 2023, which affected about 300 employees, attributed by McKinnon to earlier overhiring and resulting in unsustainable staff numbers.

In 2023, Alphabet Inc GOOG GOOGL Google disclosed plans to cut 12,000 positions, affecting approximately 6% of its entire full-time staff.

Meta Platforms Inc META has announced since November 2022 its intention to reduce its workforce by 21,000, nearly 25% of its employees.

Microsoft Corp MSFT revealed in January its decision to decrease its workforce by about 10,000, representing 4% to 5% of its overall employee count. Amazon.Com Inc AMZN conducted its largest layoff in 2023, cutting 27,000 jobs.

During the first half of the year, the industry has seen 141,516 job cuts, a significant increase from roughly 6,000 in the previous year.

Price Action: OKTA shares traded higher by 1.75% at $84.09 on the last check Thursday.

Also Read: PayPal Cuts 9% of Staff in Efficiency Drive

Disclaimer: This content was partially produced with the help of AI tools and was reviewed and published by Benzinga editors.

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