By Keerthi Ramesh
More than 100 major employers across the United States have filed Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification (WARN) notices signaling planned layoffs set to begin in January, marking another wave of job cuts as the new year gets underway.
The WARN Act requires companies with at least 100 employees to give at least 60 days’ advance notice before mass layoffs or plant closures. The recent filings compiled by WARNTracker.com span industries from retail and finance to healthcare and technology, underscoring the broad reach of workforce reductions.
Household names such as Amazon and FedEx appear on the list of companies preparing to pare back staff. According to WARN Tracker’s filings, Amazon alone is expected to eliminate between 1,001 and 2,500 positions in January, while FedEx also signalled workforce reductions in early 2026.
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Other well-known corporations that submitted notices include Verizon, McDonald’s, Nike and Wells Fargo. The full roster also comprises Spirit Airlines, Louis Vuitton, H&M, Nordstrom, Marshalls, Mattel, General Motors and Warner Music Group, reflecting how pervasive the downturn in labor demand has become.
For many workers, the news arrives amid lingering economic pressure. Federal government figures from late December 2025 showed nearly 199,000 Americans filed new claims for unemployment benefits in one recent week a key barometer of labor market stress as layoffs accelerate across sectors.
The surge in WARN filings follows a historically difficult year for U.S. workers. Outplacement firm Challenger, Gray & Christmas reported that employers announced roughly 1.17 million job cuts through November 2025, a 54% increase compared with the same period in 2024 and the highest total since the pandemic’s peak in 2020.
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Experts say the layoffs reflect both short-term cost-cutting efforts and longer-term structural shifts in how companies operate. Artificial intelligence and automation continue to reshape labor needs, with some corporations citing technological transformation as a factor in workforce decisions. For example, Amazon previously reported eliminating thousands of corporate positions in late 2025 as part of a broader efficiency push tied to AI investments.
Economists also point to an emphasis on maximizing shareholder returns and adjusting business models in an uncertain macroeconomic environment as drivers of continued layoffs. “This isn’t a sign the whole economy’s falling apart,” one labor market specialist told Newsweek. “It’s a sign leadership is more focused on pleasing shareholders than supporting the workers who actually keep the place running.”
As January begins, thousands of employees across the country are bracing for job losses. With unemployment filings still elevated and more employers issuing WARN notices, many analysts say a volatile labor market is likely to continue well into 2026.