What led to record U.S. announced job cuts in 2025?
The 2025 total was built from large cuts with different stated rationales, rather than one uniform layoff wave. Meta began with performance-based reductions; UPS cut jobs while shedding Amazon volume; Microsoft removed jobs across successive rounds; and Amazon began a large corporate reorganization. Those company announcements were joined by a roughly 14 percent shrinkage of the federal workforce, mostly through deferred resignations. Challenger counted 1,206,374 announced U.S. cuts for the year, up 58 percent and the highest total since 2020, with federal reductions a major driver.
Trace the chain
Private-sector spread
- 1Meta raises performance barAnnouncement
Meta: 5% of staff, about 3,600 people, cut as 'low performers'
Mark Zuckerberg told managers Meta would raise the bar on performance and move out roughly 5 percent of employees, about 3,600 of 72,000, in a February cut, with the company's headcount expected to be down 10 percent by the end of the performance cycle including attrition. It set the tone for a year in which performance-based cuts at Microsoft and others followed.
Fortune ·
As of September, Meta employed about 72,000 people, so a 5% reduction could affect roughly 3,600 jobs.
Why it matters here. Meta's plan to remove roughly 5 percent of staff through performance reviews made a major technology cut visible at the start of 2025, so subsequent announcements showed whether reductions would extend beyond one company.
Who Cut Jobs When: A Register of Major U.S. Layoffs, 2025 to 2026
- 2UPS sheds Amazon volumeAnnouncement
UPS: 20,000 jobs and 73 buildings as it sheds Amazon volume
With its first-quarter results UPS said it would cut 20,000 jobs in 2025, about 4 percent of its global workforce, and close 73 buildings by June as it deliberately halved the Amazon business it called unprofitable; Amazon volume was already down 16 percent in the quarter. UPS said the decision was unrelated to tariffs and was instead due to increased use of technology and the previously announced plan to trim its Amazon business. It followed a 14,000-position management cut in 2024, and was the largest announced cut of the first half of 2025.
CNN Business ·
UPS will cut 20,000 jobs this year, about 4% of its global workforce, the company said Tuesday. But UPS added the decision is unrelated to tariffs and is instead due to increased use of technology and a previously…
Why it matters here. UPS turned its decision to shed Amazon volume and close 73 buildings into 20,000 planned job cuts, so the register next records recurring reductions at another large employer.
Who Cut Jobs When: A Register of Major U.S. Layoffs, 2025 to 2026
- 3Microsoft's third roundAnnouncement
Microsoft: another 9,000, its third round of the year, including Xbox studios
On the second day of its fiscal year Microsoft cut about 9,000 jobs, under 4 percent of the workforce, after 6,000 in May and 300 in June, hitting Xbox hardest with cancelled games and studio closures while the company committed about $80 billion to AI data centres for the year. Roughly 15,000 Microsoft jobs went in 2025.
CNBC ·
Microsoft said Wednesday that it will lay off about 9,000 employees.
Why it matters here. Microsoft's third round followed 6,000 cuts in May and 300 in June, showing that reductions could recur within one company, so later entries could test whether large reorganizations were spreading elsewhere.
Who Cut Jobs When: A Register of Major U.S. Layoffs, 2025 to 2026
- 4Amazon's first phaseAnnouncement
Amazon: 14,000 corporate roles, the first phase of its largest-ever cut
Beth Galetti told employees the reductions continued Andy Jassy's push to run Amazon like the world's largest startup with fewer layers and more ownership, while investing in its biggest bets including generative AI. Reuters reported the plan could reach 30,000 of about 350,000 corporate employees; affected staff got 90 days to find another internal role.
Amazon ·
While this will include reducing in some areas and hiring in others, it will mean an overall reduction in our corporate workforce of approximately 14,000 roles.
Why it matters here. Amazon's 14,000-role first phase added a large private-sector corporate reorganization alongside the separate 13.7 percent federal workforce decline recorded next.
Who Cut Jobs When: A Register of Major U.S. Layoffs, 2025 to 2026
Federal driver
- 5Federal workforce shrinksReport
The federal workforce shrank about 14% in 2025, mostly through deferred resignations
Office of Personnel Management data showed a 13.7 percent drop in federal employment from September 2024, a net decrease of about 10.8 percent after hiring, with roughly 386,000 departures over the year; OPM director Scott Kupor said over 92 percent were voluntary, mainly through the deferred resignation program, with about 17,000 reductions in force. The Partnership for Public Service called it a forced exodus that left gaps in food inspection, Social Security processing and veterans' care.
Federal News Network ·
It’s a 13.7% decrease compared with September 2024 workforce numbers, Office of Personnel Management data shows.
Why it matters here. The federal workforce's 13.7 percent decline, mostly through deferred resignations, supplied the major government reduction that helped drive Challenger's annual total.
Who Cut Jobs When: A Register of Major U.S. Layoffs, 2025 to 2026
- 6Record annual tallyReport
Challenger: 1.2 million announced job cuts in 2025, up 58% and the most since 2020
Challenger, Gray & Christmas counted 1,206,374 announced U.S. job cuts in 2025, up 58 percent from 761,358 in 2024 and the highest since 2020, driven by a 703 percent jump in government cuts to more than 300,000 and by technology. December's 35,553 was the lowest month in 17 months.
Challenger, Gray & Christmas ·
In 2025, employers announced 1,206,374 job cuts, an increase of 58% from the 761,358 announced in 2024.
Why it matters here. Challenger's count of 1,206,374 announced cuts, up 58 percent with federal reductions a major driver, establishes why the mixed private and government reductions produced the highest total since 2020.
Who Cut Jobs When: A Register of Major U.S. Layoffs, 2025 to 2026
Changes to this chain
- Proposal #202 rejected (publish:fed-rate-path-2025-2026)
- Proposal #22 accepted (verify:v1): why of step 4 -> Amazon's 14,000-role first phase added a large private-sector corporate reorganization alongside the separate 13.7 percent federal workforce decline recorded next.
Timelines in this chain
- Who Cut Jobs When: A Register of Major U.S. Layoffs, 2025 to 2026
- The Fed's Rate Path: From the 2024 Cuts to Warsh's First Meetings
- OpenAI Frontier Models: From GPT-4 to GPT-6 Astra
A chain is written by the editor from entries already published on the timelines above, each of which was read against its source before publication. The chain changes when those entries do. Data and terms.