Global firms ramp up job cuts

Weak sentiment, AI push are the reasons

- TWESHA DIKSHIT ANUJA BHARAT MISTRY DAVID GAFFEN

A UPS driver makes deliveries in Miami in April. UPS, in the throes of a cost-cutting drive, said on Tuesday that it had reduced its work force by 48,000 employees this year.

Companies around the globe have ramped up job cuts, with blue-chips from Amazon to Nestle and UPS reining in spending while consumer sentiment dims and Al-focused tech companies start to replace jobs with automation.

According to a Reuters tally, American companies have announced more than 25,000 job cuts this month, not including UPS's 48,000 figure, which dates from the beginning of 2025. In Europe, the total tops 20,000, with Nestlé accounting for the bulk after last week's 16,000-role reduction.

With economy-wide numbers on job cuts not available because the US government is in the middle of its second-longest shutdown in history, investors are paying extra attention to these anecdotal stories of layoffs. That's even if year-end layoffs are common and many of the eye-catching cuts will be stretched out over a prolonged period.