Sweeping Layoffs! Conditions in America Have Only Just Begun to Change
Anger, chaos, and confusion take hold. The insight:
The long-term impacts are likely to be significant and far-reaching.
For Corporate America, it all started long before Trump's Executive Order (EO).
Corporate America began laying off employees in large numbers in January 2024. Major companies across various sectors announced job cuts. Levi Strauss & Co. reduced its workforce by 10-15%. Discord also cut 15% of its staff, while Amazon's Audible division laid off 5% of its employees. Additionally, Unity implemented a substantial cut, laying off 25% of its workforce. On the other hand, BlackRock reduced 3% of its global workforce.
The trend continued throughout the year, with companies like IBM, Microsoft, Google, Meta, and Tesla announcing layoffs in subsequent months. By August 2024, 384 tech companies had laid off more than 124,000 (one hundred and twenty-four thousand) employees.
These layoffs were part of a broader trend that affected various industries, including tech, media, finance, manufacturing, and retail.
Then came Trump's executive order three weeks after his inauguration in January 2025, impacting all federal government agencies.
In the wake of Trump’s Executive Order that began on Thursday before Valentine's Day— workers across the country responded with anger and confusion Friday as they grappled with the Trump administration‘s aggressive effort to shrink the size of the federal workforce by ordering agencies to lay off probationary employees who have yet to qualify for civil service protections.
This initiative is being overseen by the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), which Elon Musk leads.
As part of this effort, mass layoffs are taking place, primarily targeting probationary employees across various federal agencies—a major shift in federal employment practices, with the goals of reducing government spending and increasing operational efficiency.
POLITICO
Mass Layoffs, court challenges, and Buyouts: Making Sense of Trump’s Plans to shrink the federal workforce
The layoffs are part of an initiative move by Trump and a team led by Elon Musk to transform the federal government, which employs around 2.3 million individuals.
The administration earlier moved to cut funding for USAID and WHO and reduced funding for organizations that assist Americans in enrolling in Obamacare and for diversity initiatives at the Department of Education.
Officials at the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) have announced plans to reduce the agency's workforce by 50%, according to a HUD staff member with direct knowledge of the situation and a union leader who has communicated with other staff.
Kansas Farmers are now trying to save USAID
In a sign of the chaos surrounding the firings, federal workers are warning of a 'fascist danger' as they protest Elon Musk's DOGE.
The Insight: Check out the Live Layoffs on the Public Records notification website.
The WARN (Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification) Act requires employers with 100 or more employees to provide at least 60 days of advance written notice before a plant closing or mass layoff that affects 50 or more employees. Keep in mind that not all layoffs or plant closures require WARN notices. The requirements for issuing WARN notices can vary by state.
Bookmark the website for future reference.
Change the 'State' and the 'Year' from the drop down to see if your company /job is at risk. Take note of the 'Notice Date.'
The impact of these cuts is already being felt across the nation. Communities that heavily rely on federal employment are experiencing economic shifts, which are affecting local businesses and housing markets.
The latest HUD housing report just dropped, and the numbers are alarming. More than 5.89 million renters are behind on rent, while 4.87 million homeowners are struggling with mortgage payments.
While much of the administration’s attention was focused on disrupting bureaucracy in Washington, the broad-based effort to slash the government workforce was impacting a far wider swath of workers.
Demonstrations against the mass firing are expected to ramp up with Congress on recess.
Theo Edwards for YAME Digital