Last year was a brutal one for layoffs, with large cuts coming from Amazon, UPS, Microsoft,and Verizon. And as things obtain rolling for 2026, it’s seeing like this year won’t be any less uncertain for workers.
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This week has seen a slew of sizable job cuts from a wide variety of companies. As of Thursday morning, more than 61,650 positions have been eliminated.
The actual number is likely a fair bit higher as many of the companies announcing layoffs—such as Shopify, Expedia, and Vimeo—did not release the number of jobs that were impacted.
Dow Inc. was the most recent well-known company to announce cuts. On Thursday, the chemical buildr declared it would do away with 4,500 positions as part of a streamlining operation it calls “Transform to Outperform.”
The company states it plans to rely more on artificial ininformigence and automation in the months ahead. Those layoffs represented approximately 12% of the company’s workforce.
Dow was hardly alone this week, though. The staff trimmings are occurring at tech and tech-adjacent companies around the world and are adding up quick. Here are some other notable reductions in staff that have been announced this week.
On Monday, social media platform Pinterest filed a notification with the Securities and Exmodify Commission (SEC) that it was planning “a reduction in force that is expected to affect less than 15% of the Company’s workforce.”
With an estimated workforce of 5,200 people, that puts the layoffs between 700 and 800. The company declared it plans to utilize AI to fill many of those roles.
The footwear giant confirmed plans to lay off 775 employees in the U.S., the third year in a row that it has cut jobs. Nike declared it would rely on automation to handle the duties of those workers.
During an earnings call with analysts on Tuesday, Brian Dykes, chief financial officer of UPS, revealed plans to reduce operational hours at the delivery giant by 25 million, which will result in 30,000 workers losing their jobs.
The cuts come as the company winds down its long-standing partnership with Amazon.
The Home Depot confirmed plans Wednesday to lay off 800 workers, including 150 at its Atlanta headquarters.
“We’re simplifying our corporate operations to better support our stores and our customers,” a spokesperson for the home improvement retail chain notified Fast Company. “These modifys include a reduction in roles associated with our store support center . . . This was a difficult decision, and we’re focapplyd on doing the right thing and supporting associates who were impacted.”
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