Headline Roundup • October 29th, 2025
US Job Cuts Approach 1 Million in 2025 as Top Companies Announce Layoffs
Summary from the AllSides News Team
Updated 10/29/25 at 3:02 pm ET: Amazon and Paramount have also announced layoffs, with Amazon laying off approximately 14,000 corporate employees and Paramount planning to cut 2,000 jobs in the near future.
Target, Meta, and General Motors (GM) are three of the most recent major US employers who have announced job cuts, contributing to the largest number of layoffs in the US since 2020.
The Details: Employers in the US have cut over 950,000 jobs as of the beginning of October, and layoffs are expected to surpass 1 million by the end of the year. Target announced plans to lay off 1,000 corporate workers and cut about 800 unfilled roles. Meta, which owns Facebook and Instagram, laid off 600 workers from its artificial intelligence division. GM laid off 200 workers on Friday, mostly from its technical center in Michigan. Recently, Starbucks laid off 900 corporate employees in addition to an undisclosed number of retail workers.
For Context: These layoffs came in the midst of a stall in the labor market, as companies are now expecting to bring on 58% fewer workers than they forecasted last year. The White House Office of Management and Budget has also recommended that federal agencies consider layoffs due to the government shutdown, which could contribute to more job cuts. Though high, the nearly 1 million job cuts in the US still remain significantly lower than they were in 2020, when about 2 million American workers lost their jobs.
How the Media Covered It: CBS (Lean Left bias) covered job cuts across industries, including a quote from a labor expert who said, “Previous periods with this many job cuts occurred either during recessions or, as was the case in 2005 and 2006, during the first wave of automations that cost jobs in manufacturing and technology.” Wall Street Journal (Center) reported on job cuts at Meta and Target and noted a survey of Target employees that showed growing frustrations and doubts its employees had with the company. Daily Mail (Right) highlighted that GM laid off workers despite stock values increasing by 47 percent over the past six months and an 8% sales increase compared to this time last year.
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Target plans to cut around 1,800 corporate roles as part of an effort to remake its strategy to reverse a period of stagnant sales.
Target announced Thursday it will lay off around 1,000 global corporate employees and cut 800 open roles. The move will cut around 8% of its approximately 22,000 corporate employees, with around 80% of the cuts in its U.S. ranks.
“The truth is, the complexity we’ve created over time has been holding us back,” Michael Fiddelke, Target’s incoming chief executive, said in a memo sent to staff....
Bloomberg via Getty Images
America's biggest carmaker has laid off 200 staffers, days after reporting blockbuster earnings.
GM — which owns Chevrolet, GMC, Cadillac, and Buick — issued pink slips to 200 workers, largely at the automaker's technical center in Warren, Michigan.
The company uses the 69-year-old facility for its engineering, supply chain, AI, and technical development staff.
Bureau of Labor Statistics
Employers across the U.S. cut nearly 950,000 jobs this year through September, the largest number of layoffs since 2020, according to outplacement firm Challenger, Gray & Christmas.
Job cuts could surpass more than 1 million in 2025, the group forecast. The layoffs this year, although elevated, remain well below the massive workforce reductions in 2020, when the pandemic shuttered businesses across the nation, leading to 2 million layoffs through September of that year, Challenger noted.
