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Microsoft, Salesforce and SAP are still some of the best places to work in the world even after layoffs, according to Glassdoor

CNBC 3/22/2023 Morgan Smith

Velib bicycles are parked in front of the the U.S. computer and micro-computing company headquarters Microsoft on January 25, 2023 in Issy-les-Moulineaux, France.

Despite months of wide-sweeping job cuts across Silicon Valley, tech companies are still some of the best places to work in the world, according to recent research from Glassdoor.

Glassdoor's annual "Best Places to Work" list, which was published on Jan. 10, highlighted the top companies people are happiest working for, according to employee reviews, in five countries: The United States, Canada, France, Germany and the United Kingdom.

This year, only three companies appear in the top 25 for each of the five countries: Microsoft, SAP and Salesforce.

These companies, however, have all laid off thousands of employees in recent months: In January, Microsoft announced plans to cut 10,000 employees, while Salesforce said it planned to lay off 7,000 workers. Just last month, SAP said it would eliminate up to 3,000 jobs, or about 2.5% of its total workforce.

Yet the employee reviews on Microsoft, SAP and Salesforce's Glassdoor pages remain overwhelmingly positive, even after the recent layoff announcements.

For Glassdoor's list, each organization was rated on a 5-point scale for its career opportunities, compensation, culture, management and work-life balance, among other factors.

Glassdoor referred to millions of reviews and insights about companies submitted on the site between October 2021 and October 2022 to determine the rankings.

Six months ago, pre-layoffs, Microsoft had an overall rating of 4.4 out of 5 stars, while SAP and Salesforce had overall ratings of 4.4 each. Microsoft and SAP's ratings have remained the same post-layoffs, while Salesforce's rating dipped to a 4.2, Glassdoor data shows.

"It's not impossible for a company to experience a crisis and still remain a strong place to work," Daniel Zhao, senior economist at Glassdoor, says. "It really comes down to communication and leadership … if employees feel like they understand the decisions leadership is making, and are also supported if they are laid off, whether it's through a generous severance package or temporarily extending health care benefits, can make all the difference."

In reviews after layoffs were announced, employees at Microsoft, SAP and Salesforce still touted the companies' benefits, competitive pay and smart, kind colleagues they work with as pros of working there, but also wrote that middle management and executives could be more transparent and communicative about expectations around working hours and layoff decisions.

2022 might have brought "extreme highs and lows" for workers, with hiring freezes and mass job cuts hitting several industries, but in 2023, companies will continue to double down on improving the employee experience to attract and retain talent, according to Glassdoor CEO Christian Sutherland-Wong.

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