While macroeconomic data announced in the USA shows that the labor market remains resilient, layoffs are noteworthy in high-profile companies in key sectors, especially technology.
The latest reports published by the US Department of Labor and various institutions indicate that the employment market remains strong across the country. While non-agricultural employment in the country exceeded expectations by increasing by 165 thousand people in October, increases in professional and commercial services, transportation and storage and health services sectors came to the fore.
While the unemployment rate decreased by 0.1 point to 4.1 percent in October, the number of unemployed people decreased by 41 thousand to 7 million 68 thousand.
A similar picture was seen in private sector employment. According to data from the ADP Research Institute, private sector employment increased by 86 thousand people in October, exceeding market expectations.
Layoffs are at their lowest level since 2023
According to the September JOLTS data of the Ministry of Labor, the number of open jobs in the country increased by 333 thousand, reaching 7 million 523 thousand, and the number of recruitment increased by 131 thousand, reaching 5 million 402 thousand. In the same period, the total number of layoffs and resignations decreased by 127 thousand to 1 million 641 thousand, falling to its lowest level since March 2025.
Data from Challenger, Gray & Christmas, which tracks layoffs, also supported this trend. The number of layoffs of 43 thousand 994 people announced by US-based employers in October decreased by 71 percent compared to October 2025, becoming the lowest October level recorded since 2023.
Despite this positive picture in macro data, a mixed course was observed in household expectations.
According to the results of the October Consumer Expectations Survey of the New York Branch of the US Federal Reserve (Fed), the expectation that the unemployment rate will be higher one year later increased by 1.4 points to 45.3 percent. Thus, the rate in question reached its highest level since April 2020.
It was noteworthy that the expectation of the possibility of losing a job in the next 12 months increased by 0.4 points to 13.9 percent, while the expectation of the possibility of finding a new job increased by 0.4 points to 46.5 percent. Job finding expectations thus reached their highest level since November 2025.
TECHNOLOGY SECTOR LEADS IN JOB DISLAYS
Although the general picture in the labor market is positive, giant companies, especially in the technology sector, have made layoff decisions covering tens of thousands of personnel in search of automation opportunities and efficiency brought by artificial intelligence.
The large-scale layoff decisions taken by leading technology companies in the USA such as Microsoft, Amazon, Meta, Oracle and Uber this year attracted attention.
Amazon announced its decision to lay off approximately 16 thousand employees worldwide in January. The company announced in July that it had terminated the employment of some employees in its artificial general intelligence unit.
It was reported that Meta decided to lay off approximately 8 thousand employees and plans to shift 7 thousand people to new positions focused on artificial intelligence.
In line with changing industry dynamics and customer needs, Microsoft decided to terminate 4,800 positions, corresponding to approximately 2.1 percent of the global workforce. The company has also launched a voluntary severance offer program for approximately 60,000 employees in the US, Canada, India and the UK.
Ride-hailing platform Uber announced that it will reduce the number of employees by approximately 10 percent to speed up decision-making processes.
E-commerce company eBay, which provides an online auction service, announced that it will liquidate 800 positions, equivalent to 6 percent of its workforce worldwide.
While Snap announced that it would lay off approximately 1000 people, corresponding to 16 percent of its employees, the company's CEO Evan Spiegel noted that the rapid advances in artificial intelligence were effective in the decision.
Network technologies company Cisco Systems stated that it will lay off approximately 4 thousand people as part of the restructuring plan that aims to shift its investments to artificial intelligence and related growth areas.
E-commerce platform Etsy also announced that it will reduce its workforce by approximately 12 percent as part of its restructuring plan.
FINANCIAL TECHNOLOGY AND CRYPTO
The layoff decisions taken by companies in the field of financial technology also attracted attention. Payment systems company Visa announced that it will reduce 2,600 positions, equivalent to 7 percent of its workforce, in order to increase efficiency.
Intuit, which develops tax and finance software, announced that it will reduce the number of full-time employees by 17 percent in order to simplify its organizational structure and become a faster company.
Cryptocurrency exchange Coinbase stated that it will lay off approximately 14 percent of its employees, citing market conditions and artificial intelligence transformation. Coinbase CEO Brian Armstrong stated that artificial intelligence makes it possible to do more work with small and focused teams.
Stock trading platform Robinhood announced that it aims to increase "talent intensity" by reducing the number of employees by 10 percent, and Block, which owns the mobile payment and finance application Cash App, announced that it will lay off more than 4 thousand employees.
Financial technology and payment company Fiserv announced last week that it had reduced the number of employees and contractors by 3,000 since June, including downsizing senior management by more than 10 percent.
RETAIL, MANUFACTURING AND FINANCE GIANTS
Strategic layoffs followed one another in sectors other than technology. American Express said it will reduce its global workforce by approximately 5 percent to control rising costs, accelerate innovation and ensure operational efficiency.
Supermarket chain Kroger announced that it will reduce its corporate staff by approximately 3,000 people over the next 3 years to focus on lowering prices and allocating resources to store employees who serve customers directly.
It was reported that PepsiCo will terminate the employment of approximately 1000 people in its food and beverage department.
US aviation company Boeing announced that it plans to reduce the workforce in its commercial aircraft unit by approximately 5 percent.
Sportswear company Nike stated that it will lay off approximately 1,400 people, mostly in the field of technology, to strengthen the foundation of its global operations and move to a long-term profitable growth model.
Chemical production company Dow Inc. also noted that it plans to lay off approximately 4,500 people in January and that business processes will be improved with automation and artificial intelligence to reduce costs and increase efficiency.
Electric vehicle manufacturer Lucid announced that it will reduce its current workforce in the USA by 18 percent in order to accelerate the process of reaching profitability and generating positive cash flow.
While Detroit-based vehicle manufacturer General Motors (GM) stated that it would reduce certain teams in its software and services unit, it was reported in the US media that the company would terminate the employment of more than 1,000 salaried employees in these units.
MEDIA
Streaming platform Netflix announced that it plans to lay off around 1,000 employees, approximately 6 percent of its global workforce. This attracted attention as the company's largest wave of layoffs since 2022.
It has been reported that Walt Disney, one of the largest companies in the entertainment industry in the USA, asked some of its managers to reduce their annual expenses by 20 percent. It was noted in the country's press that a large part of this savings would be achieved by laying off thousands of people.
Omnicom Group, which operates in the fields of marketing, advertising and corporate communications, announced that it will reduce employment by approximately 15 thousand people following its acquisition of Interpublic Group and integration process. The company laid off 4 thousand people last year.
