A new round of layoffs is hitting American workers, with major companies across the retail, technology and pharmaceutical sectors preparing to reduce their workforces. Kroger revealed plans this week to eliminate approximately 3,000 corporate positions over the next three years, while Pfizer confirmed about 150 layoffs at a Michigan manufacturing facility. Amazon has also announced another round of corporate cuts, and Netflix is reportedly preparing a restructuring that could affect about 5 percent of its workforce.
Airtable is another company making substantial reductions this week. Its new owner, Bending Spoons, confirmed that a "large portion" of the software company's pre-acquisition workforce will leave. When things get shaky or investors want bigger returns, workers are shown the door.
Not every company cuts jobs for the same reason every time. But the result is the same,” HR consultant Bryan Driscoll told Newsweek. Kroger's planned reductions will affect more than a third of its corporate workforce and come as the grocer expands its use of AI.
Meanwhile, Amazon's newest reductions are centered primarily on the company's core Stores operation, and Pfizer attributed its Michigan cuts to lower demand for some products. Some layoffs are immediate cuts tied to individual facilities, while others are part of multiyear restructuring plans. Kroger plans to eliminate roughly 3,000 corporate positions over the next three years, according to a memo from CEO Greg Foran.
The reductions would amount to about 37 percent of Kroger's roughly 8,200 corporate employees. The plan is one of the biggest workforce reductions in the supermarket company's history and will bring significant restructuring to its corporate operations. Some jobs will genuinely change because of AI.
But not every layoff is because of innovation,” Driscoll said. The grocer has increasingly incorporated artificial intelligence into its operations, and this may be a key factor in the coming layoffs. "Technology is reshaping what's possible," Foran said in the memo, according to the .
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