Layoffs aren't over yet for tech giants as managers prepare to tighten on the 'laptop generation,' says tech investor Gene Munster

• Tech layoffs are far from over, according to tech investor Gene Munster.
• The Deepwater Asset Management managing partner thinks firms have room to cut.
• He also sees them getting tighter on the "laptop generation" who refuse to return to the office.

More layoffs could be on their way at big tech firms as bosses prepare to tighten on the "laptop generation," according to Gene Munster.

In an interview with Insider, Munster, managing partner at Deepwater Asset Management, said companies weren't done with their efforts to slash headcount, despite a drastic wave of layoffs in recent months.

The investor, who expects layoffs to be announced as soon as next-quarter earnings, believes both Microsoft and Google are the two top candidates to make further cuts to their workforce even though they're riding an AI boom.

Microsoft's first round of layoffs in January hit 10,000 workers, while Google's impacted around 12,000. Munster believes these cuts, which he said were "representative of what the topline is doing," have been modest compared with those made by rivals such as Meta.

"I think that there are more cuts coming even from the ones that are in a good position like Microsoft," Munster said. "It seems like that's still a vast open opportunity for them when it comes to margins."

Microsoft and Google did not immediately respond to Insider's request for comment.

Munster's comments come as tech companies shift their tone away from growth to focus on efficiency. This is a bid to correct course on the hiring sprees they embarked on during the pandemic amid an economic downturn.

The efficiency plans have led companies such as Meta to target layers of middle managers that prominent Silicon Valley voices. These include Elon Musk, who has called out such employees as being members of remote-working "laptop classes," who he considered to be detached from the day-to-day reality of operations.

Munster thinks that "there has been this laptop generation" that "some of these tech companies are going to tighten on." He also sees managers pushing workers to get back into the office given the belief that it will give them "a competitive advantage."

Remote workers have been especially worried about layoffs. A survey of 80,000 workers published earlier this year by software firm Humu found remote workers were 32% more likely than office workers to feel anxious upon learning about layoffs.

Since 2022, more than 360,000 workers have lost their jobs in the tech sector, according to online tracker Layoffs.fyi. "The punchline is that tech's not immune and even the titans that we rely on have to recognize what's going on with the economy," Munster said.