BuzzFeed, Lyft, Whole Foods and Deloitte all recently announced layoffs affecting thousands of US workers. They join a growing list of companies cutting back on their workforce this year amid concerns about economic uncertainty, as well as the need to rightsize after going on a hiring spree during the pandemic.
The slew of widely publicized layoffs comes as the job market begins to slow, following months of historic post-pandemic growth. US employers added just 236,000 jobs in March, below expectations — and a sign that the Federal Reserve’s yearlong rate-hiking campaign to chill inflation is now also cooling the labor market.
First-time claims for unemployment benefits rose to 245,000 for the week ended April 15, above expectations of 240,000, according to data released Thursday by the Department of Labor. March’s shift in momentum indicates that could be changing. Around 89,703 layoffs were announced in March, a 15% gain from February, according to a report from global outplacement firm Challenger, Gray & Christmas.
Here is a list of major companies that have reduced their workforces this year.
April 2023
Meat giant Tyson Foods is laying off about 15% of senior leadership roles and 10% of corporate roles, according to an internal memo shared with CNN.
“We recently announced structural changes and rightsizing of teams, which will allow us to operate with more speed, collaboration and agility and focus on what drives value for our customers and consumers,” a company spokesperson told CNN in an email. “While these decisions are never easy, they are necessary and over time will make Tyson Foods stronger.”
The cuts come after Tyson announced layoffs of nearly 1,700 workers in March after closing two poultry plants in an effort to boost profits.
The closure decision “[reflects] our broader strategy to strengthen our poultry business by optimizing operations and utilizing the full available capacity at each plant,” a Tyson Foods (TSN) spokesperson told CNN in an email at the time of the first round of layoffs. Tyson also announced a relocation of all corporate jobs to Arkansas in October.
Manufacturing behemoth 3M announced significant layoffs as part of another major restructuring plan. The brand behind Post-It Notes and Scotch Tape said in a statement it would lay off 6,000 staff around the world. Those cuts are in addition to the 2,500 manufacturing roles the company eliminated in January. 3M also announced several mass layoffs in 2019 and 2020, but total headcount has been up and down over the past several years.
The company said it anticipates it will save up to $900 million a year before taxes after the layoffs are complete. 3M argued that the cuts are “intended to make 3M stronger, leaner and more focused” by simplifying its supply chain and reducing layers of management.
Rideshare company Lyft (LYFT) plans to “significantly reduce” its workforce, CEO David Risher told employees, in another round of layoffs that reports said could affect hundreds of company staff members. The announcement follows Lyft (LYFT)’s move in November to cut 13% of its workforce, citing fears of a looming recession.
In a company-wide memo, Risher said the cuts were aimed at making Lyft a “faster, flatter company where everyone is closer to our riders and drivers.”
Whole Foods
Whole Foods is laying off an unspecified number of employees, the company confirmed to CNN. Headcount will be reduced by less than half of one percent of total employees, focused exclusively on corporate roles.
Deloitte
Consulting giant Deloitte will lay off 1,200 employees, the Financial Times reported.
“Our US businesses continue to experience strong client demand. As growth in select practices moderates, we are taking modest personnel actions where necessary,” a company spokesperson told CNN.
The digital media company announced a 15% reduction in its workforce, or about 180 employees. The decision came in an internal memo that also announced the shuttering of BuzzFeed’s news division.
“While layoffs are occurring across nearly every division, we’ve determined that the company can no longer continue to fund BuzzFeed News as a standalone organization,” BuzzFeed chief executive Jonah Peretti told staffers.
One of the largest sellers of wedding gowns in the United States, David’s Bridal is laying off thousands of workers nationwide, according to a notice filed to the Pennsylvania Department of Labor.
The notice said the retailer is eliminating 9,236 positions across the United States but did not specify how many stores would be affected.
The layoffs come as the company filed for bankruptcy for the second time in five years.
Walmart is laying off more than 2,000 workers at five US warehouses that fulfill website orders in a move that came weeks after America’s largest private employer warned it’s in for a tough year ahead.
The retail giant is cutting more than 1,000 jobs in Texas, 600 jobs in Pennsylvania, 400 in Florida and 200 in New Jersey, according to Worker Adjustment Retraining Notification (WARN) filings.
Walmart said in a statement that it “recently adjusted staffing levels at our fulfillment centers in select markets to better prepare for the future needs of customers” and that it was a decision that wasn’t “made lightly.” It said that it’s “working closely with affected associates to help them understand what career options may be available at other Walmart locations.”
McDonald’s
McDonald’s (MCD) instructed corporate employees to work from home in early April in anticipation of layoffs, according to a report from the Wall Street Journal.
“During the week of April 3, we will communicate key decisions related to roles and staffing levels across the organization,” the company said in an email to employees, according to the Journal. “We want to ensure the comfort and confidentiality of our people during the notification period.”
McDonald’s has 150,000 employees in its company-owned locations and offices globally, with 70% of those positions outside of the United States, according to the Journal.
Bed, Bath & Beyond has been on bankruptcy watch and has been closing hundreds of stores since late 2022. Workers at affected stores across the country have been laid off.
March 2023
The tech giant announced an additional 10,000 layoffs across several months on top of mass layoffs in 2022.
Among those affected by layoffs are members of the company’s sustainability, well-being, user experience, news feed and messaging teams, according to public LinkedIn posts.
The company said in November that it was eliminating approximately 13% of its workforce, or 11,000 jobs, in the single largest round of cuts in its history.
In September, Meta reported a headcount of 87,314, per a securities filing. With 11,000 job cuts announced in November and the 10,000 announced in March, Meta’s headcount will fall to around 66,000 — a total reduction of about 25%.
Disney
Three rounds of layoffs hit Disney (DIS), announced through a March 27 internal memo to employees. Around 7,000 people will be affected by the move over the next several months.
ABC News was affected by the cuts, laying off several senior executives and restructuring its newsroom amid the broader workforce reduction by its parent company, people familiar with the matter told CNN.
“Throughout the company, teams are being impacted by the downsizing that was announced several weeks ago, including our own ABC News family,” ABC News President Kim Godwin told staffers in a memo.
A person familiar with the matter said the cuts affected approximately 50 roles across the organization, including those that were open and yet to be filled.
Accenture (ACN) professional services company, plans to slash 19,000 jobs worldwide as it attempts to cut costs amid a gloomy economic picture.
The company said in a March filing that it would spend $1.2 billion in severance to cut 2.5% of its workforce over the next 18 months, and another $300 million to consolidate its office space.
More than half of the axed roles would be among back-office staff, the company said.
Amazon (AMZN) said in March it would cut 9,000 jobs, bringing the total number of Amazon (AMZN) staffers eliminated this year to around 27,000.
The company announced in January that it was eliminating some 18,000 positions as part of a major cost-cutting bid at the e-commerce giant.
CEO Andy Jassy announced the fresh round of cuts in a memo to staff, saying the move mostly affects people working in Amazon Web Services, People Experience and Technology, advertising and Twitch.
Job listing website Indeed.com announced cuts of approximately 2,200 employees, representing almost 15% of its total workforce, the company said in March.
“The cuts come from nearly every team, function, level and region” at the company, CEO Chris Hyams said in a memo released by the company. “The specific decisions on who and where to cut were extremely difficult, but they were made with great care,” the memo added.
The decision to make job cuts at the company, founded in 2004, arose out of Indeed’s projection that the job market will continue to cool down following “the recent post-Covid boom,” said Hyams. The company anticipates that job listings, which are the company’s bread and butter, will continue to decline in fiscal years 2023 and 2024.
Satellite radio giant SiriusXM laid off 475 people, or about 8% of its workforce, as part of a broad restructuring.
The layoffs at the radio company — home to the Howard Stern Show and owner of the Pandora streaming music service — affected “nearly every department across SiriusXM,” and are the result of the “uncertain economic environment,” CEO Jennifer Witz wrote in a memo to staff.
February 2023
KPMG
Consulting giant KPMG announced in an internal memo that it would cut almost 2% of its US workforce as it anticipated waning client demand, according to a Financial Times report.
Telecom company Ericsson cut 8,500 jobs around the world in a bid to slash costs.
The Swedish company — one of the world’s biggest providers of 5G mobile networks —announced a drive in February to cut costs by 9 billion crowns ($859 million) by the end of this year.
Among other measures, the plan will “also result in a need to address headcount,” an Ericsson spokesperson told CNN.
National Public Radio said it would lay off 10% of its staff after projecting a $30 million budget shortfall, NPR’s chief executive John Lansing wrote in a memo to staff in February.
“When we say we are eliminating filled positions, we are talking about our colleagues — people whose skills, spirit, and talents help make NPR what it is today,” Lansing wrote in the memo obtained by CNN. “This will be a major loss.”
The layoffs at the public broadcaster, home to the popular news programs “Morning Edition” and “All Things Considered,” was set to eliminate 100 positions, an NPR spokesperson told CNN.
News Corp (NWS) said it would cut 5% of its workforce, or 1,250 jobs, after the media conglomerate fell short of quarterly Wall Street estimates for profit and revenue, hurt by declines across its businesses, including news.
Yahoo announced in February that it will cut 20% of its total workforce by the end of this year as it restructures its advertising unit.
A Yahoo spokesperson told CNN that the company’s legacy ad tech division, Yahoo for Business, will be overhauled and transformed into a new division called Yahoo Advertising. As part of that change, Yahoo plans to cut nearly 50% of the division this year, according to the spokesperson.
Zoom (ZM) said it will lay off about 1,300 employees, or approximately 15% of its staff, in a memo to employees in Feburary.
Zoom CEO Eric Yuan said the layoffs would affect every part of the organization. Yuan also said he and other executives would take a significant pay cut, after acknowledging he made “mistakes” in how quickly the company grew during the pandemic.
Yuan said members of the executive leadership team will reduce their base salaries by 20% for the coming fiscal year and forfeit their fiscal year 2023 bonuses.
Boeing (BA) announced plans to cut about 2,000 jobs in finance and human resources, and it will be shifting some of that work to an outside contractor in India.
Although Boeing will reduce office staff, the company is preparing to add 10,000 employees focused on engineering and manufacturing.
The company said job cuts will be accomplished through a combination of attrition and layoffs. Some of the work conducted by the staff being let go will be contracted out to Tata Consulting Services in Bengaluru, India, while other work will be eliminated through streamlining and simplifying processes.
The cuts come after the company announced several rounds of job cuts throughout the pandemic due to falling demand, followed by rapid hiring last year.
Dell (DELL) laid off roughly 5% of its workforce, the company said in a regulatory filing in February.
The technology company had about 133,000 employees, the company told CNN. At that level, the 5% cut represents more than 6,500 employees.
The computing giant cited the “challenging global economic environment” for the cuts. In a letter to employees, Jeff Clarke, Dell’s vice chairman and co-chief operating officer, said steps the company had already taken — such as restrictions on employee travel and a pause on external hiring — were insufficient.
EV maker Rivian Automotive laid off 6% of its workforce in an effort to cut costs as an industry-wide price war kicked off.
Recent price cuts by Tesla (TSLA) and Ford (F) are expected to hurt EV upstarts like Rivian, and the company turned resources toward ramping up vehicle production and reaching profitability, CEO R.J. Scaringe said in an email to employees announcing cuts.
The digital media conglomerate BDG, which houses brands such as Elite Daily and Bustle, slashed its workforce by 8% and shuttered the recently relaunched news and gossip website Gawker.
In an email to employees, chief executive Bryan Goldberg said the company is “facing a surprisingly difficult” first quarter of 2023 and had made the decision to “reprioritize” some of its investments that “better position the company for the direction we see the industry moving.”
January 2023
PayPal (PYPL) announced lay offs for about 2,000 employees, or roughly 7% of its staff.
In a memo to staff, PayPal CEO Dan Schulman referred to the “challenging macro-economic environment” and said the company “must continue to change as our world, our customers, and our competitive landscape evolve.”
Dotdash Meredith, the publisher that houses well-known brands such as People, Better Homes & Gardens, InStyle and Travel + Leisure laid off 7% of its staff, the company’s chief executive said in January. Around 274 employees were affected.
IBM (IBM) announced cuts of around 3,900 positions, or 1.5% of its global workforce. The move will cost IBM (IBM) about $300 million this quarter, a spokesperson confirmed.
The Washington Post cut 20 roles in January as part of a move that publisher Fred Ryan had indicated in December that the newspaper would take in early 2023.
Sally Buzbee, executive editor of The Post, described the decision to cut the jobs as “difficult” in a memo to employees and disclosed that the newspaper had identified 30 open roles it will no longer fill.
Amazon (AMZN) CEO Andy Jassy announced in a blog that the company would slash more than 18,000 roles globally, citing “uncertain” economic conditions and its rapid hiring over the past few years.
“We are working to support those who are affected and are providing packages that include a separation payment, transitional health insurance benefits, and external job placement support,” Jassy wrote in the blog.
Alphabet
Google parent Alphabet eliminated about 12,000 jobs, or 6% of its workforce, the company said in January. Affected US employees remained on the company’s payroll for 60 days and received at least 16 weeks salary in severance, in addition to other benefits.
Waymo, Alphabet’s self-driving car unit, was among the divisions affected by cuts, losing 8% of its staff across two rounds of layoffs this year. Some 209 jobs were eliminated in total, after cuts in late January and another later round.
Microsoft
The tech behemoth said in January it would be laying off 10,000 employees, according to a securities filing.
CEO Satya Nadella said “no one can defy gravity” and that Microsoft (MSFT) could not ignore the weaker global economy.
“We’re living through times of significant change, and as I meet with customers and partners, a few things are clear,” Nadella wrote in a memo. “First, we saw customers accelerate their digital spend during the pandemic; we’re now seeing them optimize their digital spend to do more with less.”
Vox Media
The publisher of news and opinion website Vox, tech website The Verge and New York Magazine, announced it would be cutting 7% of its staff, or about 130 people.
“We are experiencing and expect more of the same economic and financial pressures that others in the media and tech industries have encountered,” CEO Jim Bankoff said in a memo.
BlackRock
Layoffs are also hitting Wall Street hard. The world’s largest asset manager, BlackRock (BLK), eliminated 500 jobs, or around 3% of its workforce.
Goldman Sachs
The investment bank laid off up to 3,200 workers in January amid a slump in global dealmaking activity. More than a third of the cuts were expected to be from the firm’s trading and banking units. Goldman Sachs (GS) had almost 50,000 employees at the end of last year’s third quarter.
Coinbase
The crypto brokerage announced in early January that it’s cutting 950 people, or 20% of its workforce. The move comes just a few months after it laid off 1,100 people.
Although bitcoin had a solid start to the new year, crypto companies were slammed by significant drops in prices of bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies.
Stitch Fix
The online personalized subscription clothing retailer said it planned to lay off 20% of its salaried staff in January.
“We will be losing many talented team members from across the company and I am truly sorry,” Stitch Fix (SFIX) founder and former CEO Katrina Lake wrote in a blog post.
Salesforce
Salesforce (CRM) said it would cut about 10% of its workforce from its more than 70,000 employees and reduce its real estate footprint. In a letter to employees, the software company’s chair and co-CEO Marc Benioff admitted to adding too much to the company’s headcount early in the pandemic.
- CNN’s Alicia Wallace, Clare Duffy, Oliver Darcy, Parija Kavilanz, Jordan Valinsky, Anna Cooban, Catherine Thorbecke, Chris Isidore, Jackie Wattles, Peter Valdes-Dapena, Jon Passantino, Dayun Park, Olesya Dmitracova, Brian Fung, Ramishah Maruf and Danielle Weiner-Bronner contributed reporting.
