The wave of layoffs that began in recent years is still hitting hard in 2025. Across industries — from tech and finance to media and manufacturing — thousands of workers are being let go as companies restructure, automate, or fight to stay profitable. Some firms blame slowing growth, while others are chasing efficiency or making room for artificial intelligence. Behind every announcement are real people facing uncertainty and sudden change.
This roundup pulled from the headlines, looks at the major job cuts shaping the business world this year, offering a clear look at how widespread and varied these workforce reductions have become.
1. BlackRock
BlackRock plans to cut about 200 jobs, roughly 1% of its 21,000 employees, according to Bloomberg. Despite the reduction, the company hired 3,750 people in 2024 and expects to add another 2,000 in 2025. President Rob Kapito and COO Rob Goldstein said the move is meant to better align resources with BlackRock’s long-term strategy.
2. Block
Jack Dorsey’s Block, which owns Square, Afterpay, CashApp, and Tidal, is laying off nearly 1,000 employees. About 200 managers will shift to non-management roles, while 800 open positions will be closed. Dorsey said the cuts aim to simplify operations, not cut costs.
3. Bloomberg
Bloomberg is making editorial staff cuts as part of a newsroom restructuring. The changes will merge smaller teams into larger ones, though the company plans to increase total headcount by year-end. The newsroom currently employs about 2,700 people.
4. Blue Origin
Jeff Bezos’s Blue Origin is cutting about 10% of its workforce, affecting over 1,000 employees. CEO David Limp said the company needs to streamline operations and focus on manufacturing and launch speed. The layoffs target roles in engineering, R&D, and management. Limp admitted that rapid growth created extra bureaucracy. The move follows the January debut of the New Glenn rocket.
5. Boeing
Boeing will cut 400 jobs from its moon rocket program due to Artemis mission delays and rising costs. Artemis 2 is now set for September 2025, while Artemis 3 has been delayed to September 2026. Boeing hopes to redeploy workers to reduce layoffs.
6. BP
Oil giant BP is eliminating 7,700 jobs worldwide — 4,700 employees and 3,000 contractors — about 5% of its global workforce. The cuts aim to simplify operations, lower costs, and improve performance. This move continues BP’s ongoing restructuring effort started in 2024.
7. Bumble
Dating app company Bumble plans to lay off 240 workers, roughly 30% of its workforce. The cuts will cost the company between $13 million and $18 million over two quarters. Bumble said the restructuring will better align the team with its priorities.
8. Chevron
Oil giant Chevron plans to cut 15% to 20% of its workforce — up to 9,000 jobs — by the end of 2026. The company, which had 45,600 employees at the end of 2023, said the layoffs will reduce costs as it finalizes its Hess acquisition, which is currently tied up in legal disputes. Chevron expects the changes to save $2–$3 billion and improve efficiency.
9. CNN
CNN is eliminating 200 television-focused positions, about 6% of its staff, to shift focus toward digital news platforms. CEO Mark Thompson said the move is meant to better serve audiences as viewing habits evolve.
Coty
Cosmetics giant Coty, which owns brands like Kylie Cosmetics and Calvin Klein, will cut 700 jobs. The restructuring is expected to save $130 million annually and help position the company for sustainable growth, according to CEO Sue Nabi.
10. CrowdStrike
Cybersecurity firm CrowdStrike is cutting 500 jobs, about 5% of its global workforce, to improve efficiency. The layoffs will cost the company $36 million to $53 million. CrowdStrike, which faced a major tech outage in July 2024, is working toward reaching $10 billion in annual recurring revenue but reported weaker-than-expected results in March.
11. Disney
Disney confirmed it is laying off several hundred employees worldwide, mainly in film and TV marketing under the Disney Entertainment division. Other affected areas include publicity, casting, development, and corporate finance. This follows earlier cuts, including 200 roles in March, and is part of ongoing restructuring since CEO Bob Iger’s return.
12. Estée Lauder
Estée Lauder plans to eliminate 5,800 to 7,000 jobs over the next two years. The company is streamlining teams and outsourcing some services under its Profit Recovery and Growth Plan. The changes are expected to deliver $800 million to $1 billion in annual savings before tax.
13. Geico
Geico, owned by Berkshire Hathaway, has cut 30,000 jobs, slashing its workforce from 50,000 to 20,000. Vice Chair Ajit Jain revealed the massive reduction during Berkshire’s annual meeting on May 3, though he didn’t specify the timeline. Despite the cuts, Geico reported $2.2 billion in pre-tax underwriting profit for Q1 2025.
14. Grubhub
Grubhub announced 500 layoffs, affecting over 20% of its 2,200 employees, following its $650 million sale to Wonder Group in January. The move aims to align operations under its new ownership. The previous owner, Just Eat Takeaway, sold the company at a steep loss after struggling with slowing growth and high taxes.
15. HPE
Hewlett Packard Enterprise (HPE) will cut 2,500 jobs, about 5% of its workforce, over the next 12 to 18 months. CEO Antonio Neri said the move will save $350 million by 2027 and help HPE adjust to recent challenges, including tariffs, weak server and cloud sales, and execution issues.
16. Intel
Intel is cutting 15% to 20% of its Foundry division, resulting in more than 5,000 job losses across California, Oregon, Texas, and Arizona, according to July filings. The company, which had 108,900 employees at the end of 2024, said the layoffs will simplify its structure and improve performance. Intel expects the cuts to streamline operations and better serve customer needs.
17. Johns Hopkins University
Johns Hopkins University will eliminate over 2,000 jobs, marking the largest layoff in its history, after losing $800 million in USAID funding. The cuts affect 44 countries internationally and U.S.-based programs, hitting the schools of medicine, public health, and the nonprofit Jhpiego. Some staff will also face reduced hours or furloughs.
18. Kohl’s
Kohl’s has cut about 10% of corporate roles, with less than 200 employees directly impacted. Over half the reductions came from closing open positions. The company is also closing 27 underperforming stores across 15 states as it struggles with declining sales and a leadership shakeup, including the appointment of Ashley Buchanan as CEO in January.
19. Meta
Meta is cutting 5% of its workforce as CEO Mark Zuckerberg pushes to remove what he calls “low-performers.” The layoffs began in February, hitting teams responsible for Facebook, Horizon VR, and logistics. In April, additional cuts were made in Reality Labs, Meta’s VR division. Since 2022, the company has eliminated over 21,000 jobs as part of ongoing restructuring.
20. Microchip Technology
Microchip Technology is laying off 2,000 employees company-wide. The move will cost $30 million to $40 million in severance and restructuring expenses. The company also plans to close its Tempe, Arizona facility starting in May 2025, affecting another 500 jobs. The cuts come amid slowing orders and a 33% stock decline over the past year.
21. Microsoft
Microsoft has announced multiple layoff rounds in 2025. In May, about 6,000 jobs were cut, followed by another round in July affecting roughly 9,000 employees, or 4% of its workforce. Earlier in the year, the company made performance-based cuts, with no severance offered and immediate loss of benefits, impacting divisions like gaming and sales.
22. Morgan Stanley
Morgan Stanley plans to lay off 1,600 to 2,400 employees — about 2% to 3% of its global workforce — starting at the end of March. The cuts are aimed at improving efficiency and realigning priorities, not tied to broader market conditions. Financial advisors will be spared, but some support staff in wealth management could be affected.
23. Nextdoor
Neighborhood networking app Nextdoor is cutting 12% of its staff, or 67 jobs, as part of a reorganization to achieve profitability. The layoffs are expected to reduce expenses by $30 million. Despite this, the company reported a $15 million net loss, an improvement from $43 million the previous year.
24. Nissan
Nissan will slash 20,000 jobs by 2027 and reduce its factories from 17 to 10 amid financial struggles. This includes 9,000 layoffs announced in 2024. The automaker faces U.S. tariffs on imported cars and falling sales in China, leading to a $4.5 billion loss in 2024 and uncertainty about future profits.
25. Oracle
Oracle is cutting jobs within its cloud division, according to Bloomberg. The reductions are tied to cost-cutting efforts as the company invests heavily in AI infrastructure. Some of the layoffs were linked to performance issues, sources said. Oracle has not publicly disclosed the number of jobs affected.
26. Panasonic
Panasonic plans to cut 10,000 jobs by the end of its financial year in March 2026, with 5,000 positions in Japan and 5,000 overseas. The company said it will streamline sales and support roles to improve efficiency and ensure staffing levels align with operational needs as part of a global restructuring effort.
27. Paramount
Paramount will lay off 3.5% of its U.S. workforce, impacting about 650 employees based on its 18,600-person staff at the end of 2024. The company cited industry-wide slowdowns and a tough economic environment. This follows a 15% workforce cut last year and comes as Paramount awaits approval of its merger with Skydance Media.
28. Peloton
Peloton plans to cut about 6% of its global workforce, or roughly 175 jobs, as part of a strategy to save $100 million in annual costs by the end of its next fiscal year. CFO Elizabeth Coddington said half of the savings have already been achieved through layoffs, with the rest expected later this year. Peloton had about 2,900 employees last year and is pushing to reduce operating expenses amid slowing growth.
29. PwC
PwC is laying off 1,500 employees, about 2% of its U.S. workforce, due to historically low attrition rates. The cuts began on May 5, mostly affecting the audit and tax divisions. PwC said the move was necessary to rebalance staffing levels after several years of fewer voluntary departures.
30. Salesforce
Salesforce is cutting more than 1,000 jobs from its nearly 73,000-person workforce, Bloomberg reported. Despite strong financial results, the company is restructuring and encouraging affected employees to apply for internal openings, especially in roles supporting its AI-powered products. The move comes as Salesforce shifts focus toward AI growth, even while continuing to hire in certain areas.
31. Scale AI
Scale AI laid off 200 full-time employees — about 14% of its workforce — along with 500 contractors on July 16. The restructuring targets the company’s generative AI division, according to interim CEO Jason Droege. The cuts come shortly after Meta’s $14 billion investment in Scale, which included hiring its former CEO Alexandr Wang and acquiring significant equity.
32. Southwest Airlines
Southwest Airlines is laying off 15% of its corporate staff, or about 1,750 employees, marking the first major layoff in the airline’s 53-year history. CEO Bob Jordan said affected workers will receive pay, benefits, and bonuses through late April. The cuts are expected to save $210 million in 2025 and $300 million in 2026 as the airline restructures to boost profits and plans to end its open-seating policy for added revenue.
33. Starbucks
Starbucks announced 1,100 corporate job cuts on February 25 as part of a restructuring plan. CEO Brian Niccol said the goal is to increase efficiency and accountability while simplifying operations. The layoffs do not affect store employees and come as the company works to improve performance after a decline in sales last year.
34. UPS
UPS announced plans to cut 20,000 jobs — about 4% of its global workforce — as it moves toward automation and reduces reliance on Amazon deliveries. The company will close 73 U.S. facilities by June and automate 400 locations to lower labor costs. CEO Carol Tomé said the changes will make UPS “stronger and more nimble.” The move follows a 16% drop in Amazon package volume in Q4. The Teamsters union has vowed to fight any layoffs affecting its members.
35. The Washington Post
The Washington Post cut fewer than 100 jobs, about 4% of its non-newsroom workforce, in January to reduce costs. A spokesperson said newsroom positions were spared, emphasizing that the changes are part of a transformation to sustain the paper’s future and reach readers more effectively.
36. Wayfair
Wayfair is laying off 340 tech employees as it closes its Austin Technology Development Center. The company said the restructuring follows key modernization and platform upgrades and will help refocus resources for the next phase of growth. The cuts will cost $33 to $38 million in severance and other transition-related expenses.
37. Workday
Workday announced it is cutting 8.5% of its workforce, which equals about 1,750 employees, as part of a strategic shift toward artificial intelligence. CEO Carl Eschenbach told staff in February that the company plans to focus hiring on AI-related roles while expanding its global operations. He emphasized the need for a new approach given Workday’s current size and market conditions. Impacted employees will receive at least 12 weeks of pay as part of their severance package.
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Ed spent his childhood in the backwoods of Maine, where harsh winters taught him the value of survival skills. With a background in bushcraft and off-grid living, Ed has honed his expertise in fire-making, hunting, and wild foraging. He writes from personal experience, sharing practical tips and hands-on techniques to thrive in any outdoor environment. Whether it’s primitive camping or full-scale survival, Ed’s advice is grounded in real-life challenges.
