Amid data boom, Equinix engages in layoffs and restructuring

Data center operator Equinix confirmed to Light Reading it recently laid off 3% of its global workforce, or roughly 400 positions out of the 13,000 employees worldwide Equinix reported at the end of last year.

"Equinix continues to evolve our services to ensure we provide the highest value to support the changing needs of our customers," the company said in a statement to Light Reading. "As part of these ongoing efforts, we will at times make internal adjustments to reallocate resources and prioritize initiatives that accelerate our strategy. To that end, we recently eliminated a limited number of roles (approximately 3% of our global workforce) to align with current priorities. We continue to actively recruit new talent to serve customers and drive growth."

The move comes just a few days after reports emerged that Equinix would shutter its Metal service in 2026. Equinix Metal is a bare-metal cloud platform that provides on-demand access to physical servers, meaning that customers could rent servers directly, without the need for virtual machines or hypervisors. Equinix Metal stemmed from the company's acquisition of bare metal provider Packet in 2020.

The financial analysts at TD Cowen noted that Equinix's new CEO, Adaire Fox-Martin, appears to be cleaning up the company's operations since taking the helm earlier this year. The analysts said Equinix officials leaving the company include Scott Crenshaw (EVP and GM of digital services), Merrie Williamson (chief revenue officer), Milind Wagle (CIO) and Michael Montoya (chief information security officer).

Equinix's reshuffling comes amid a boom in spending on the kinds of massive data centers that Equinix operates, mainly driven by Big Tech interest in AI.

For example, according to research firm Dell'Oro Group, worldwide data center capital expenses (capex) grew 46% in the second quarter of this year, in response to demands for generative AI services.

Indeed, Equinix itself recently unveiled plans to invest up to $15 billion in new infrastructure designed to support AI operations. The company's revenues grew 7%, to $2.2 billion, in its most recent quarter.

For 2024, Dell'Oro expects data center capex to grow 35% globally to $400 billion.