From Adani-Hindenburg Saga To WeWork's Bankruptcy: 7 Shocking Business Controversies Of 2023

It's a no-brainer that 2023 was a rollercoaster year in every sense, especially for the business world. At a time when the world was already grappling with recession fears, geopolitical tensions, and high inflation, a string of shocks hit the business world during different parts of the year.

As the year 2023 draws close to its end, let us look back at some of the biggest controversies that hit the business world, whether it's WeWork¡¯s bankruptcy, mass layoffs, Sam Atlman¡¯s firing, or the Adani vs. Hindenburg saga.

7 Business Controversies That Shocked Us In 2023

1. Adani vs. Hindenburg

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Probably the biggest controversy that shocked the business world this year was US-based short seller Hindenburg Research¡¯s report on January 24th that rattled the Gautam Adani-led Adani Group.

Hindenburg came out with its report, mentioning how Gautam Adani is pulling the largest con in corporate history. Hindenburg mentioned that, based on its research, it has taken a short position in Adani Group Companies through U.S.-traded bonds and non-Indian-traded derivative instruments. It accused the Adani Group of accounting fraud, stock manipulations, and money laundering. The Adani group has continuously denied any wrongdoing.

From being Asia's richest and the world's third richest person at the beginning of this year, the Hindenburg report's attack resulted in Adani being out of the world's 20 richest people list. But the recent surge and gradual recovery of Adani Group stocks has helped the billionaire come up a few places in the list inside the top 20.

Also Read: Meet Nathan Anderson, The Man Behind Hindenburg Report

2. Mass Layoffs By Microsoft & Google

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In mid-January this year, both Microsoft and Google announced mass layoffs that affected thousands of employees at the tech giants.

Alphabet CEO Sundar Pichai sent the following email to Google employees when it announced mass layoffs of around 12,000 employees.

"I have some difficult news to share. We¡¯ve decided to reduce our workforce by approximately 12,000 roles. We¡¯ve already sent a separate email to employees in the US who are affected. In other countries, this process will take longer due to local laws and practices. This will mean saying goodbye to some incredibly talented people we worked so hard to hire and have loved working with. I¡¯m deeply sorry for that. The fact that these changes will impact the lives of Googlers weighs heavily on me, and I take full responsibility for the decisions that led us here.¡±

Google¡¯s mass layoffs came shortly after its rival Microsoft made a similar announcement. In mid-January, Microsoft announced big job cuts affecting 10,000 employees. Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella said that the company will be ¡°making changes that will result in the reduction of our overall workforce by 10,000 jobs through the end of FY23 Q3.¡±

Click here to learn what major tech CEOs said to justify mass layoffs this year.

3. WeWork Global Filing For Bankruptcy

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Once valued at $47 billion, the beginning of the end began for office space-sharing giant WeWork Global, as it filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in November this year.

WeWork filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection on Monday, November 6, 2023, and has listed both assets and liabilities in the range of $10 billion to $50 billion in a Chapter 11 petition filed in New Jersey. The bankruptcy filing allows WeWork to keep operating while it works out a plan to repay its debts.

The bankruptcy filing is limited to WeWork¡¯s locations in the U.S. and Canada, the company said in a press release. So, WeWork's locations outside of the U.S. and Canada, as well as its franchisees around the world, are not affected by these proceedings.

Also Read: 10 Big Companies That Bounced Back From The Brink Of Bankruptcy

4. Credit Suisse Collapse

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Another shocker for the banking sector in 2023 was the collapse of Swiss banking giant Credit Suisse.

In March this year, Switzerland¡¯s biggest bank, UBS Group, agreed to buy Credit Suisse Group in a historic, government-brokered deal aimed at containing a crisis of confidence that threatened to spread across global financial markets.

UBS had come out as a rare winner and struck a deal to buy its smaller rival, Credit Suisse, for about $3.3 billion. Click here to learn about the collapse.

5. The Godfather Of AI, Geoffrey Hinton, Leaves Google

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In May this year, a pioneering researcher and the so-called ¡°Godfather of AI,¡± Geoffrey Hinton, quit his role at Google so he could more freely speak about the dangers of the AI technology he helped create.

Hinton had said that he retired from Google so that he could speak openly about the potential risks as someone who no longer works for the tech giant. ¡°I want to talk about AI safety issues without having to worry about how it interacts with Google¡¯s business. As long as I¡¯m paid by Google, I can¡¯t do that.¡±

Some of the dangers of AI chatbots are ¡°quite scary,¡± Hinton told the BBC. ¡°Right now, they¡¯re not more intelligent than us, as far as I can tell. But I think they soon may be.¡±

6. Narayan Murthy Triggers 70-Hour Work Week Controversy

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In late October this year, Infosys co-founder Narayana Murthy¡¯s advice to youngsters about working for 70 hours a week stirred a debate across social media. Ever since the 77-year-old made the statement, social media has been flooded with reactions and opinions.

From Infosys co-founder¡¯s wife Sudha Murthy, former Shark Tank India judge Ashneer Grover, and Ola CEO Bhavish Aggarwal, many reactions poured in after the 70-hour work week statement.

Click here to see some of the major reactions to the 70-hour work week controversy triggered by Infosys co-founder Murthy.

7. Sam Altman's Firing & Then Rehiring At OpenAI

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Last but not least, another big controversy that the business world saw this year was in November, when chatGPT creator OpenAI¡¯s CEO, Sam Altman, was abruptly fired and then rehired as CEO. The 'TIME's CEO Of the Year 2023' revealed that the development (of him getting fired) was confusing and chaotic for him, and his iPhone had also stopped working. He said that he was in his "hotel room, took this call, had no idea what it was going to be, and got fired by the board."

As per OpenAI's statement, "Mr. Altman¡¯s departure follows a deliberative review process by the board, which concluded that he was not consistently candid in his communications with the board, hindering its ability to exercise its responsibilities. The board no longer has confidence in his ability to continue leading OpenAI.¡±

Altman was fired on November 17, 2023, and then returned as OpenAI CEO on November 29, 2023.

Also Read: How A Lost iPhone Led To Warren Buffett Investing Billions In Apple

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