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The first quarter of 2025 has seen a wave of layoffs sweep across multiple industries, with job cut announcements reaching levels not seen since the last two recessions, asReutershas noted. In the first two months alone, U.S. employers announced over 221,000 job cuts – the worst start to a year for layoffs since 2009.

R&D-heavy sectors have not gone unscathed by any means. Take, for instance, Meta’s reduction of thousands of positions in its Reality Labs and non-AI divisions as one example. Or Chevron’s winnowing of at least 8,000 workers with plans to trim 15% to 20% of its global workforce by the end of 2026 as another. And then Porsche recently announced it would cut 3,900 workers amid a 23% profit decline, using early retirements and contract expirations to manage the EV transition.

The three cuts are a microcosm of layoff patterns in especially hard-hit sectors with energy accounting for almost one-quarter of the layoffs in our tracker. Yet these reductions aren’t simply cost-cutting measures—they represent strategic reallocations of innovation capital. Onsemi Intelligent Technology’s elimination of 2,400 semiconductor positions came alongside explicit plans to consolidate R&D in automotive and industrial segments where margins remain healthier. Meanwhile, IBM’s decision to pause hiring for back-office roles “replaceable by AI” stands in contrast to its aggressive recruitment of AI specialists with six-figure signing bonuses. This dichotomy—cutting in legacy areas while investing in emerging tech—appears consistently across sectors, with the Challenger Report showing Entertainment/Leisure planning to hire 28,000 new workers even as total layoffs reached 221,812 by February’s end.

While it is difficult to generalize across sectors, there are a handful of reasons behind many of the cuts. First, many firms are focusing on emerging technologies as we will explore in more detail below. Meta is cutting jobs in Reality Labs and non-AI divisions to prioritize AI development, while also implementing internal performance evaluations to eliminate low performers. Porsche, for instance, is reducing its workforce in part owing to weak demand for its electric vehicles such as the Taycan, as well as facing broader economic and geopolitical pressures, especially steep sales declines in key markets like China, that are prompting a shift back to combustion and plug‑in hybrid models. Second, cost management drives efficiency—Chevron is making cuts as part of a strategic cost‐reduction and efficiency drive, while also dealing with lower refining margins and declining profitability on refined products like gasoline. Chevron’s pending acquisition of Hess—which is currently delayed owing to legal disputes with Exxon Mobil—has added to its organizational complexity.

AI’s job swap: Tech cuts 20,000 roles while hiring for the future

The tech industry’s pandemic-era hiring boom has decisively cooled, marking the biggest churn since the dot-com crash. After 428,000+ tech jobs were eliminated globally in 2022–2023 (See: Tech Funding News), the downsizing continues into 2025, albeit more slowly. In 2024, companies worldwide cut at least 280,000 tech jobs, over half from U.S. firms. Entering 2025, another 20,000 U.S. tech positions were slashed by February (and about 10,000 more globally), according to TechNode Global. Major names like Meta, Microsoft, Amazon, and Salesforce issued new (though smaller) layoffs in early 2025. February alone saw over 16,000 tech layoffs – part of more than 22,000 tech cuts year-to-date, as TechCrunch has noted.

These tech cuts follow an era of “hyper-growth” in tech. “Tech companies were spending money like 1980s rock stars and now need to rein in … ahead of a softer macro [economy],” notes Wedbush analyst Dan Ives told Business Insider. He emphasizes that firms are “cutting costs to preserve margins and get leaner” after overexpanding. The stock market has generally rewarded these belt-tightening moves.

AI is a double-edged sword for jobs: Automation and AI are dual forces in tech. “Technology firms are being disrupted by AI integration,” observed Andrew Challenger. Companies are eliminating roles AI can replace, sometimes entire teams, while simultaneously hiring for AI development. The hardware sector has followed a similar playbook of late, investing in AI while it streamlines.

The World Economic Forum projects that while automation may displace 85 million jobs by 2025, it could create 97 million new ones in fields like data science and human–AI collaboration. In the short term, however, many tech firms remain in cost-cutting mode. As Ives put it, “5–10% headcount cuts across the tech sector” are now common.

Sub-sectors like semiconductors, electronics, and fintech have been hit especially hard-hit. Hardware giants that ramped up during the pandemic PC and smartphone boom have experienced falling demand. Dell cut 18,500 jobs, and Samsung shed 14,455; Tesla let go of 14,000 amid rising costs.

Auto jobs fade as electric dreams remain uncertain

Manufacturing in 2025 shows varied layoff trends by segment. Consumer products manufacturing announced 12,947 job cuts in Jan–Feb 2025, up 95% from a year earlier, according to Challenger Gray. In automotive manufacturing though, the transition to electric vehicles and uncertain policies clearly continue to reshape workforces. In January alone the auto sector announced 4,549 job cuts, up 123% year-on-year. “The Auto sector is subject to enormous disruptions in tech, as well as consumer preferences with electric vs. gas cars,” said Andrew Challenger. Automakers are investing heavily in EVs while phasing out some combustion-engine projects; Ford and GM carried over prior EV-related layoffs into 2025.

Not all manufacturing news is grim. Some firms are consolidating for efficiency rather than sheer decline. For example, Siemens announced 5,600 global job cuts in industrial automation and EV charging divisions “to improve competitiveness.” Meanwhile, some manufacturers are hiring for EV and battery projects (See: Challenger, Gray & Christmas). Overall, firms are running lean, automating production where possible, and reconfiguring supply chains (sometimes “reshoring,” sometimes closing U.S. plants). Electronics companies like Cisco and SAP have each shed roughly 9,500 jobs, citing shifts in global demand, according to TechNode Global.

The big government slimdown

One of 2025’s most striking developments is the significant reduction in the federal government workforce. Typically, public-sector layoffs are modest, but this year the government led all sectors in cuts. In February, 62,242 federal jobs were cut across 17 agencies, contributing to a 62,530 total for the year so far — up from just 151 in the same period of 2024. The impetus is a political initiative under the newly established Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE). President Donald Trump has described the federal government as “bloated,” and DOGE has mandated elimination of thousands of positions, including at agencies like the Department of the Interior and scientific research units.

“The likelihood that many more workers leave voluntarily is high,” noted Andrew Challenger regarding the ripple effect. Contractors dependent on federal projects have also announced layoffs.