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Bosses Are Firing Working Class Employees Left and Right (And Honestly, We See Why)

The layoff wave isn't hitting who you think it is.

By Chris Lewis, CEPF , Edited by Calista Headrick

Updated Nov. 9, 2026

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The word "layoffs" tends to conjure images of factory closings and hourly workers being let go by the thousands. But today's layoffs are affecting a much broader range of employees, including those who built careers in offices, negotiated salaries well above median income, and assumed that remote work had secured their place in the economy.

The numbers tell a story that surprises most people, and it is worth understanding before assuming your own job is safe.

The scale of cuts is hard to ignore

Layoff announcements topped 1.1 million in 2025, the highest total since the pandemic year of 2020, according to data from Challenger, Gray and Christmas. There wasn't a slowdown in 2026 either.

Technology companies alone announced 52,050 job cuts in the first quarter of 2026, up roughly 40% from the same period a year earlier. That is not a blip. That is a sustained trend accelerating.

Who's actually being cut?

The headlines keep naming familiar companies. Citigroup targeted roughly 20,000 eliminations as part of a major restructuring. Block, the payments company led by Jack Dorsey, cut more than 4,000 employees in early 2026, cutting its headcount nearly in half.

Meta, Amazon, Microsoft, and Oracle have all continued rolling reductions. These are not manufacturing plants shutting down. They are professional services, software engineering, finance, marketing, and operations roles disappearing from large employers.

What employers are saying

Companies have given several reasons for the cuts, and they tend to cluster around a few themes.

The biggest one is AI. Employers attributed 49,135 planned cuts to artificial intelligence in just the first four months of 2026, according to Challenger, Gray and Christmas. The tasks being automated first are exactly the kind that fill white-collar job descriptions: data entry, document review, basic analysis, and structured reporting. These are the repeatable, process-driven tasks that AI handles best.

Sending jobs overseas is another reason companies are cutting workers. If a job can be done remotely, a company may be able to hire someone in another country for less money. This has put some office jobs that became remote during the pandemic at greater risk.

Tariffs and an uncertain economy are also leading companies to cut jobs. Some businesses are laying off employees now to save money and prepare for possible financial challenges ahead.

How much of this is actually AI

Here is where the picture gets more complicated. Roughly 35% of hiring managers say AI is reducing staffing needs, according to a Resume.org survey of 1,000 hiring managers. But 59% of hiring managers said they emphasized AI in layoff announcements because "it plays better" publicly.

Analysts have started calling this "AI washing," where companies use AI as a convenient explanation for cuts that were actually driven by over-hiring during the pandemic years, cost pressure from investors, or ordinary business contraction.

Fast Company noted that Challenger, Gray and Christmas itself acknowledged AI cannot yet fully replace most roles outside of tech. So while the cuts are real, the explanation is often more complicated than the press release suggests.

The pay cuts that follow job losses

Losing a job is bad enough. What comes after can be worse. Revelio Labs found that 40% of white-collar workers who switched jobs at the end of 2025 took pay cuts of more than 10%, the highest share in at least a decade.

The days of jumping to a new employer for a 20% raise are largely over for professional workers. The leverage has shifted. Companies know there are more experienced candidates available, and they are pricing new hires accordingly.

This is part of a longer trend. Wage growth for professional and office workers has been running at roughly a third the pace of workers in manufacturing, healthcare, and food service, according to data tracked across labor sectors. The workers assumed most vulnerable have actually held their ground better than the ones assumed most secure.

What you can do if you're in an exposed role

If you work in technology, finance, marketing, HR, or any field heavily reliant on tasks that AI can assist with, there are concrete steps worth taking now rather than later.

Build skills that are harder to automate. AI is good at processing and summarizing existing information. It is still weak at managing relationships, exercising judgment in ambiguous situations, and leading people through change. Roles that require those things are holding up better.

Document your impact in financial terms. When companies cut, they look for roles whose value is easiest to question. Knowing what your work is worth in dollars, clients retained, or revenue generated makes that case much harder.

Expand your professional network now, not after a layoff notice. Most jobs at the senior level are still filled through relationships, not job boards.

Bottom line

The current layoff wave is concentrated in white-collar and professional work, driven by a combination of real AI adoption, cost pressure, and a correction after years of over-hiring. If your job involves tasks that can be automated or offshored, the risk is genuine and worth preparing for rather than waiting to see.

One detail that does not get enough attention: workers in exposed roles often have more options than they realize to make extra money through freelance work, consulting, or part-time contracts while they are still employed. Building that income stream now, before it becomes urgent, is one of the most practical forms of job security available.