List of major companies heading into the new year including CNN, Meta, Microsoft and BP
List of major companies heading into the new year including CNN, Meta, Microsoft and BP
Microsoft is planning layoffs in the new year.Riccardo Milani/Hans Lucas/AFP via Getty Images
The layoffs continue until 2025, following a wave of reductions last year.
Companies like Meta, Microsoft, Blackrock and BP are laying off employees.
See this list of companies letting workers go in 2025.
Two years of major layoffs across technology, media, finance, manufacturing, retail and energy, with layoffs and other workforce reductions continuing into 2025.
While the reasons for staff reductions vary, cost-cutting measures emerge in the context of technological change. In a recent World Economic Forum survey, some 41% of companies globally said they expected to reduce their workforce over the next five years due to the rise of artificial intelligence.
Companies including CNN, Dropbox, and IBM have previously announced AI-related layoffs. Technology jobs in big data, fintech and AI are expected to double by 2030, according to WEF.
Here are the companies planning or already working on research for 2025 so far.
CNN plans to cut 200 jobs.
CNN is cutting staff to focus on its digital news service.Brandon Bell/Getty Images
Cable news giant CNN is cutting about 200 TV-centric roles as part of a digital hub. The reductions will amount to 6% of the company's workforce.
CNN CEO Mark Thompson said in a memo sent to staff on Thursday that his intention was to “shift CNN's gravity to platforms where viewers themselves are shifting.” and products, and in doing so, ensures CNN's future as one of the world's greatest news organizations.”
Starbucks plans to lay off employees in March.
Starbucks is planning job cuts as part of a corporate restructuring.Angela Weiss/AFP via Getty Images
Global coffee chain Starbucks has announced plans to lay off employees in March.
“We need to make meaningful changes to how our support teams are organized and how we work,” Brian Nicoll, the company's chairman and CEO, said in a Jan. 21 memo to staff. As part of that, we There will be layoffs and a smaller support team moving forward. “
Nicol said the changes will be communicated to staff in early March.
Stripe is laying off 300 employees.
Stripe is cutting 300 jobs, according to a memo obtained by BI.pavlo gonchar/sopa images/Lightrockets Vitty Images
Payments platform Stripe is cutting 300 employees, primarily in product, engineering and operations, according to a memo obtained by BI.
Chief Rob McIntosh said in the memo that the company still plans to increase its headcount to about 10,000 employees by the end of the year.
BP is cutting 7,700 employee and contractor positions globally.
Oil giant BP is cutting thousands of jobs.John Keble/Getty Images
BP told Business Insider it plans to cut 4,700 employees and 3,000 contractors, about 5% of its global workforce.
The cuts are part of a “simplify and focus” BP plan that began last year.
“We are strengthening our competitiveness and resilience as we reduce costs, improve performance and leverage our unique capabilities,” the company said.
Meta cut 5% of its workforce.
Yuan reported on January 14 that Yuan CEO Mark Zuckerberg told employees that the company was targeting “low performance.”Fabrice Coffrini/AFP/Getty Images
According to BI's internal memo, META CEO Mark Zuckerberg recently told staff that he was “decided to raise the bar for performance management” and would move quickly to “move out low performers.”
Meta will make “broader performance-based cuts” during this year's performance review cycle, he said in a post on the company's internal communications platform. Affected U.S. employees will be notified on February 10, he wrote.
The company has laid off more than 21,000 workers since 2022.
BlackRock cut 1% of its workforce.
BlackRock is reportedly planning layoffs.Eric Thayer/Reuters
Blackrock told employees it was planning to cut 200 jobs from its 21,000-person workforce, Bloomberg reported.
The reduction of about 3,750 workers far exceeds the 3,750 workers added last year and is expected to add 2,000 workers in 2025.
BlackRock President Rob Kapito and its chief operating officer Rob Goldstein said the cuts would help the company's strategy realign resources, Bloomberg reported.
Bridgewater is laying off about 90 employees.
People familiar with the matter said Bridgewater's cuts will return its headcount to 2023.bridgewater associates
People familiar with the matter told Business Insider that Bridgewater Associates cut 7% of its staff in January to stay lean.
Job cuts at the world's largest hedge fund will return its head count to where it will be in 2023, the person said.
The company's founder, Ray Dalio, said in a 2019 interview that about 30% of new employees left the company within 18 months.
The Washington Post is cutting 4% of its non-new room workforce.
The Washington Post, owned by Jeff Bezos, will cut staff in January.Andrew Harnik/Getty Images
Reuters reported in January that The Washington Post would eliminate fewer than 100 employees to cut costs.
A spokesperson told The Wire Service that the changes will occur in multiple areas of the business and said the cuts will not affect the newsroom.
“The Washington Post is continuing to transform to meet the needs of the industry, build a more sustainable future and engage the audiences where they belong,” the spokesperson said.
Microsoft is planning an unspecified number of cuts.
Microsoft confirmed it plans to lay off employees.Nurture Images/Getty Images
Microsoft is about to plan layoffs and the company is working to look at underperforming employees as part of the reductions, according to two people familiar with the plans.
A Microsoft spokesperson confirmed the cuts but declined to share details about the number of employees being let go.
“At Microsoft, we focus on high-performing talent,” the spokesperson said. “We're always working to help people learn and grow. When people don't perform, we take appropriate action.”
Allies cut less than 5% of workers.
Ally is laying off about 500 employees.Ally Bank/Facebook
Ally, the digital financial services company, is laying off 500 of its 11,000 employees, a spokesperson confirmed to BI.
“As we continue to right-size the company, we have made the difficult decision to selectively reduce our workforce in certain areas while continuing to hire in other areas of our business,” the spokesperson said.
The spokesperson also said the company is offering severance packages, replacement support and the opportunity to apply for openings at Ally.
The Charlotte Observer reports that Ellie made a similar cut in October 2023.
Adidas plans to cut up to 500 jobs in Germany.
Despite a strong year, Adidas is still planning job cuts.Jakub Porzycki/NurPhoto via Getty Images
CNBC reports that Adidas plans to reduce the size of its workforce at its headquarters in Herzogenaurach, Germany, impacting up to 500 jobs.
According to the Adidas website, if fully executed, the reduction would be nearly 9% lower at the company's headquarters, which employs approximately 5,800 people.
Shortly after the news, the company announced it beat its profit forecast for the end of 2024, touting “much better than expected” in the fourth quarter.
“Strong growth across all regions and divisions is a testament to the good work our teams are doing across regions and functions,” CEO Bjørn Gulden said in the release. “So while we are not yet where we want to be in the long term, But I'm very happy with this development, it's much better than we expected.”
An Adidas spokesperson said in a statement to BI that the company “has become overly complex due to our current operating model.”
A spokesman said: “To set adidas up for long-term success, we are now starting to look at how to align our operating model with the way we work. This may have an impact on the organizational structure and the number of roles located at our headquarters in Herzogenaurach.”
The company said this was not a cost-cutting measure and could not confirm specific figures.
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