Layoffs 2026

Comments

• bee

  February 5

  It will be interesting to see how we as humans evolve through these changes inside and outside the workplace.
  
  Optimistically:

  Whether AI brings prosperity along with disruption—or only disruption—depends on choices made now by employers and educators preparing people for change and by workers adapting to new tools and new ways of working. Technological innovation is advancing rapidly; the question is whether our institutions can keep pace. If we manage the transition well, AI will not diminish human work; it will elevate it.

  how-workers-will-adapt-in-the-ai-era
• Shostakovich

  February 5

  Would be interesting to know which sectors the layoffs have occurred in. I suspect Tech has seen a disproportionate share of the bloodbath, but that's mostly based on my sense of headline news.
• DrVenture

  February 5

  Glad that you asked, I was about to search for that!
  
  https://www.cnn.com/2026/02/05/economy/us-jobs-data-layoffs-hiring#:~:text=Layoff announcements hit an unsavory milestone in January&text=The Spheres at Amazon headquarters in Seattle on January 29, 2026.&text=About 40% of January's layoff,and 30,000 job cuts, respectively.
  
  "About 40% of January’s layoff announcements can be tied to two firms: Amazon and UPS, which outlined plans for 16,000 and 30,000 job cuts, respectively. UPS’s plans to cut up to 30,000 jobs were tied to its ongoing wind-down of its delivery arrangement with Amazon, executives for the shipping giant said last week during an earnings call.
  
  The January layoff announcements tracked by Challenger were limited to five industries – transportation, technology, health care and health products, chemical and financial, according to the report."
  
• DrVenture

  February 5

  A layoff tracking website:
  
  https://intellizence.com/insights/layoff-downsizing/major-companies-that-announced-mass-layoffs/
  
  
• Sven

  February 5

  Thank you. This is only February and more layoff maybe fourth coming as hiring slowed considerably. More drumbeat are asking how and where the profit will be generated from AI?
  
  Elon Musk mentioned that people will not need to work because of AI ? Think he is smoke some good sh** as usual.
• DrVenture

  February 5

  Or the gubamint is going to have to provide basic income to all the folks who cannot get jobs, to prevent an uprising.
  
  
• Mark

  February 5

  Anyone know whatever happened to all those high paying manufacturing jobs that were supposed to be coming to America? While they are waiting for that magic to appear I hear there might be openings in the roofing, construction and farm labor fields. What do the republicans have against a functioning economy?
• Observant1

  February 5 edited February 5

  "Anyone know whatever happened to all those high paying manufacturing jobs that were supposed
  to be coming to America?"
  
  A few days ago the WSJ reported that fewer Americans now worked in manufacturing than any time
  since the pandemic ended.
  
  https://www.msn.com/en-us/money/economy/us-manufacturing-is-in-retreat-and-trump-s-tariffs-aren-t-helping/ar-AA1VxbCY
• DrVenture

  February 6

  If forced to build an expensive new manufacturing facility, facing higher input costs from tariffs, seeing low wage workers being deported, and falling population growth diminishing the remaining (untrained) workforce, I assume a company would be planning on heavy automation.
  
  Nike recently laid off a big chunk of their U.S. workforce to automate. Damned if you do (expensive to make things here), damned if you don't (high tariffs on imports).
  
  If these disenfranchised potential workers really want to earn, they should look into a job supporting automation!
• Sven

  February 6

  Automation requires skills and education that is far from the days of automobile assembling lines. Many uneducated people will lag badly as manufacturing jobs require skills, real skills. TSMC is having hard time finding enough skilled engineers to launch their AZ chip plant on schedule. Foxxcon had the same problem in Milwaukee, WI, they abandoned their plan.
  
  Many high school kids focus on sport instead of STEM. Also there is a big gap in trade school to produce enough skilled workers. For those who think AI will produce stuff without knowledge and skills, they are fooling themselves.
• DrVenture

  February 6

  @Sven
  
  Exactly my implied point. Those left behind are not being helped by any of this. If anything, current policy has accelerated the problem for them. Even if we expand training and education, unlike The Field of Dreams, they will not come!