From retail to tech, here are the 10 companies that recently announced massive layoffs

Amid broader economic uncertainty, some analysts said companies were in a “no hire, no fire” bind. This has led many people to limit new work to a few specific roles, or even suspend openings altogether. At the same time, significant layoffs continued to pile up, increasing anxiety among workers across all sectors.

Some companies have pointed to rising operational costs resulting from the barrage of new tariffs and changes in consumer spending from President Donald Trump. Others cite corporate restructuring more generally — or, as seen with big names like Amazon, redirecting money toward investments like artificial intelligence.

In such cases, “it’s not so much AI that’s directly taking jobs, but its appetite for cash that could take jobs,” said Jason Schloetzer, a professor of business administration at Georgetown University’s McDonough School. He highlighted the broader “trade-offs” between employment and infrastructure investment seen in businesses today.

Federal employees have faced additional doses of uncertainty, which has impacted workers’ views of the job market as a whole. Shortly after Trump returned to office earlier this year, thousands of federal jobs were eliminated. And many workers now find themselves without pay as the U.S. government shutdown approaches its fourth week.

“A lot of people are looking around, scanning the work environment, scanning the opportunities available to them, whether it’s in the public or private sector,” Schloetzer said. “And I think there’s a question mark everywhere around long-term stability.”

Government hiring data is pending during the shutdown, but earlier this month a survey by payroll company ADP showed a surprising loss of 32,000 private sector jobs in September.

Here are some companies that have recently decided to cut jobs.

Amazon

Amazon said Tuesday it would cut about 14,000 jobs, or nearly 4% of its workforce, as the online retail giant increases its spending on AI while cutting costs elsewhere. A letter to employees said most workers would have 90 days to search for a new position internally.

CEO Andy Jassy previously said he predicted generative AI would reduce Amazon’s workforce in the coming years. And it has worked to aggressively cut costs overall since 2021.

UPS

United Parcel Service has cut about 34,000 jobs since the start of this year as part of its turnaround efforts, amid broader changes in the company’s shipping business.

The layoffs, revealed Tuesday in a regulatory filing, are significantly higher than the roughly 20,000 job cuts UPS planned earlier this year. On Tuesday, UPS said it also closed daily operations in 93 leased and owned buildings during the first nine months of this year.

Target

Last week, Target announced it would cut about 1,800 positions across the company, or about 8% of its global workforce.

Target said the reductions were part of broader streamlining efforts – with COO Michael Fiddelke noting that “too many layers and overlaps of work slowed down decisions.” The retailer is also looking to rebuild its customer base. Target has reported flat or declining comparable sales in nine of the last 11 quarters.

Nestle

In mid-October, Nestlé announced it would cut 16,000 jobs worldwide, as part of a broader cost-cutting effort to turn around its financial performance.

The Swiss food giant said the layoffs would take place over the next two years. The reductions come as Nestlé and others face headwinds such as rising raw material costs and tariffs imposed by the United States. The company announced price increases over the summer to offset rising costs of coffee and cocoa.

Lufthansa Group

In September, Lufthansa Group announced it would cut 4,000 jobs by 2030, highlighting the adoption of artificial intelligence, digitalization and consolidation of work among member airlines.

Most of the lost jobs would be in Germany, and the focus would be on administrative rather than operational roles, the company said. The layoff plans came even as the company reported strong demand for air travel and predicted stronger profits in coming years.

Novo Nordisk

Also in September, Danish pharmaceutical company Novo Nordisk announced it would cut 9,000 jobs, or about 11% of its workforce.

Novo Nordisk – which makes drugs including Ozempic and Wegovy – said the layoffs were part of a broader restructuring as the company strives to sell more obesity and diabetes drugs amid growing competition.

ConocoPhillips

Oil giant ConocoPhillips has announced plans to lay off up to a quarter of its workforce, as part of broader efforts by the company to cut costs.

A ConocoPhillips spokesperson confirmed the layoffs on September 3, noting that 20 to 25 percent of the company’s employees and contractors would be affected worldwide. At the time, ConocoPhillips had a total workforce of about 13,000, or between 2,600 and 3,250 workers. Most of the reductions are expected to take place before the end of 2025.

Intel

Intel has decided to cut thousands of jobs as the struggling chipmaker struggles to revive its business as it lags behind rivals like Nvidia and Advanced Micro Devices.

In a memo to employees in July, CEO Lip-Bu Tan said Intel planned to end the year with 75,000 “core” employees, excluding subsidiaries, through layoffs and attrition. That’s down from the 99,500 base employees reported at the end of last year. The company previously announced a 15% reduction in its workforce.

Microsoft

In May, Microsoft began laying off around 6,000 employees. And a few months later, the tech giant announced it would cut 9,000 positions, in what would be the largest wave of layoffs seen in more than two years.

The latest job cuts affected Microsoft’s Xbox video games business and other divisions. The company cited “organizational changes,” with many executives calling the layoffs measures to reduce management levels. But staff reductions also come as the company spends heavily on AI.

Procter & Gamble

In June, Procter & Gamble announced it would cut up to 7,000 jobs over the next two years, or 6% of the company’s global workforce.

The maker of Tide laundry detergent and Pampers diapers said the cuts were part of a broader restructuring – also coming against a backdrop of pricing pressures. In July, P&G announced it would raise prices on about a quarter of its products due to new import taxes, although it has since said it expects to be less affected than expected in fiscal 2026.