Last Week Layoffs in the USA (December 22–29, 2025)

As of December 29, 2025, the final week of the calendar year proved exceptionally quiet for layoff announcements in the United States. Major employers largely followed the established post-2008 financial crisis pattern of avoiding negative workforce news during the Christmas and New Year period, resulting in virtually no significant new public disclosures between December 22 and December 29.

The only notable U.S.-specific mention during this narrow window was Mr. Cooper Group (a major mortgage lender and financial services provider), which issued notifications around December 24 of planned 102 job cuts set to take effect in January 2026. This modest action, while important for the individuals affected, represents a small-scale restructuring rather than a broad wave.

Tech and broader layoff tracking sources showed no evidence of large-scale announcements in this period:

• TechCrunch (last major update December 22) recorded approximately 300 employees impacted across various tech companies and startups for the entire month of December — with zero major new U.S. announcements reported in the final week.
• WARN (Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification) filings and other public trackers showed no significant new entries for this timeframe.
• No fresh high-profile moves from Big Tech, telecommunications, retail, manufacturing, or federal government entities (DOGE-related) surfaced during December 22–29.

This holiday lull stands in stark contrast to the record-breaking scale of job cuts announced earlier in 2025, but aligns perfectly with seasonal corporate communication norms.

Why December 22–29 Was So Quiet

Several factors explain the near-total absence of announcements:

• Holiday PR Strategy — Companies have long deferred major workforce reductions to avoid generating negative headlines during family-focused holiday periods.
• Year-End Finalizations — Many fall restructurings (Verizon’s 13,000+ cuts, Amazon’s 14,000 corporate roles, ongoing AI-driven efficiencies, etc.) continued to phase out quietly without new public statements.
• Budget & Planning Cycles — Most organizations wait until the new fiscal/calendar year begins in January to execute and announce larger plans.
• Economic Stability Signals — Weekly initial jobless claims data (released late December) showed unexpected improvement rather than deterioration, supporting the low-activity narrative.

Broader December 2025 Context

While the last week was nearly silent, December as a whole remained subdued compared with the dramatic peaks of October and November:

• Tech sector: Approximately 300 total cuts across scattered startups, cloud providers, fintech, and AI-related firms (per TechCrunch December 22 tracking).
• Finance: The Mr. Cooper Group notification stands as the primary late-December U.S. action.
• No major spikes in WARN notices, Big Tech headlines, or federal efficiency-related disclosures in the final days.

For full-year perspective, U.S.-based employers had already announced 1,170,821 planned job cuts through November (Challenger, Gray & Christmas) — a 54% increase year-over-year and the highest 11-month total since the 2020 pandemic year. Key categories included:

• Artificial Intelligence — explicitly linked to ~55,000 cuts
• Restructuring — the leading reason overall
• Government Efficiency (DOGE) — nearly 294,000 positions
• Telecom — led by Verizon’s historic reductions
• Tech — cumulative 126,000+ U.S.-based cuts across the year

What This Means Heading into January 2026

The holiday quiet provides a brief pause for the U.S. workforce, but many labor market analysts anticipate a potential increase in announcements once the new year begins. Companies often:

• Finalize budgets in early January
• Execute deferred restructuring plans
• Announce additional AI-driven efficiencies
• Complete year-end performance and headcount reviews

For workers already impacted by earlier cuts:

• The job search environment remains highly competitive, especially in tech, white-collar services, and federal-related roles.
• Upskilling in AI, data analytics, cybersecurity, and emerging technologies continues to be a critical strategy.
• Government unemployment resources, career transition services, industry networking, and professional upskilling platforms remain essential support channels.