Top 10 Companies With the Most Layoffs in 2025 – Global Update

The sound of printers, phones, and hallway chatter has quieted in many offices this year. Layoffs in 2025 didn’t come like a wave; they came in waves, small, steady, and relentless. Some people saw it coming. Others found out through an email that vanished their login access within minutes.

Across sectors, tech, logistics, energy, and retail, companies are tightening up. The pattern feels familiar yet sharper this time. For perspective on job stability and workplace trends, see Top 10 Worst Jobs in the World and Top 10 Companies with Best Work-Life Balance in India, Top 10 Countries with the Best Work-Life Balance. Both show how uneven the job market truly is right now.

Global Layoffs 2025: Company-Wise Snapshot

Company	Estimated Job Cuts	Primary Cause	Industry
Microsoft	~9,100	Cost realignment and AI shift	Technology
Nissan	~10,000	Manufacturing and sales slowdown	Automotive
Accenture	~11,000	Automation-led restructuring	Consulting
UPS	~20,000	Drop in parcel volume	Logistics
ExxonMobil	~2,000	Energy transition	Energy
BP	~7,700	Green restructuring	Energy
Hudson’s Bay	~8,300	Retail consolidation	Retail
Siemens	~5,600	Automation overhaul	Engineering
Starbucks	~1,100	Corporate restructure	Food & Beverage
Texas Instruments	~1,500	Semiconductor dip	Electronics

Top 10 Companies With the Biggest Layoffs in 2025 | Layoff Tracker & Analysis

This year, layoffs became a normal line in the news. No shock, no pause, just another headline. The companies didn’t collapse; they recalculated. And behind every announcement sat hundreds of workers trying to figure out their next move.

1. Microsoft

Microsoft’s 9,100 layoffs hit teams across its AI, gaming, and cloud departments. Workers described half-empty offices in Seattle by spring. Some said it felt like “a ghost shift”, people missing from desks that had always been full. The company said it was realigning to support new priorities.

2. Nissan

Nissan trimmed about 10,000 jobs, mostly in Asian and European plants. The slowdown in global car sales and rising electric vehicle costs left factories running below capacity. Workers in Yokohama mentioned long pauses between assembly lines, the kind that signal change before it’s official.

3. Accenture

Accenture let go of 11,000 people worldwide. Automation systems handled tasks that once filled entire departments. For many, it was an odd end, being replaced by something they helped design. The company described it as part of a “digital efficiency drive,” but for employees, it felt like being erased by code.

4. UPS

UPS carried out roughly 20,000 layoffs, the largest cut this year. Fewer online orders meant fewer routes. Warehouses that once ran nonstop now shut early. One worker in New Jersey said, “You could hear the silence before they made it official.”

5. ExxonMobil

ExxonMobil cut around 2,000 positions as it reorganized operations to focus on lower-carbon investments. Many mid-career engineers were offered buyouts. At offices in Texas, colleagues said goodbyes over boxed lunches before walking out together, small rituals marking the end of long careers.

6. BP

BP laid off 7,700 workers while pushing toward renewable energy. Refinery staff in Europe and the Middle East faced early exits. The move showed the growing gap between old energy jobs and new sustainability roles. A veteran technician said, “We built these plants; now we watch them wind down.”

7. Hudson’s Bay

Hudson’s Bay removed about 8,300 retail roles as more stores closed across Canada. Empty malls, shuttered windows, and quiet escalators told the story. The company’s late shift to online retail came too slowly to save traditional storefronts. Long-time staff said it felt like the end of an era.

8. Siemens

Siemens cut 5,600 jobs in its Digital Industries division. Engineers and technicians saw their tasks automated or outsourced. One worker joked darkly, “The machine learned my job too well.” It’s the cost of innovation, progress that doesn’t wait for people to catch up.

9. Starbucks

Starbucks dropped 1,100 corporate jobs to trim costs. These weren’t barista roles but office positions in marketing and operations. Employees said the layoffs came with little warning. One day, the meeting invites stopped. The next, system access vanished.

10. Texas Instruments

Texas Instruments let go of 1,500 employees as the semiconductor market cooled. Production plants in Asia cut night shifts. The sound of machines slowed. For workers used to round-the-clock manufacturing, the silence felt like the loudest change of all.

What These Layoffs Reveal About 2025’s Workforce?

Every sector tells its own version of the same story. The tech world, once the safe bet, isn’t untouchable anymore. Microsoft and Accenture’s cuts showed how automation doesn’t just change work, it replaces it. People who built digital systems now watch those systems do their old jobs better, faster, and cheaper.

Manufacturing and energy faced a different kind of shift. Nissan, Siemens, BP, and ExxonMobil are caught in transition, between tradition and technology. Workers skilled in mechanics or oil production are learning new fields like renewable systems and robotics. Not all make the jump. Some can’t. Some won’t.

Retail and logistics show another truth: convenience has its cost. UPS and Hudson’s Bay reacted to shifting consumer habits. Fewer deliveries, fewer storefronts, fewer people. It’s efficient, yes, but the social spaces they leave behind, shops, warehouses, delivery centers, take part of the community spirit with them.

What’s happening now feels less like crisis and more like a slow rewrite of how work functions. Companies hire fast, cut faster, and move on without looking back. The word “job security” feels outdated, replaced by “adjust quickly.”

Still, there’s an undercurrent of adaptation. Layoffs hurt, but they also push people to rethink skills. Some former tech workers are freelancing in renewable energy. Retail employees are moving into logistics tech. The system reshapes itself, uneven but alive.

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