Layoffs are piling up, heightening worker anxiety. Here are some of the biggest recent job cuts

NEW YORK (AP) — As layoffs pile up, workers are feeling increasingly anxious about the job market.

In the U.S., economists have said that businesses are largely at a “no-hire, no fire” standstill, leading many to limit new work, if not pause openings entirely amid economic uncertainty. Hiring has stagnated overall — with the country adding a meager 50,000 jobs last month, down from a revised figure of 56,000 in November.

But a growing list of companies are also cutting jobs. Employers have initiated layoffs across sectors — with many pointing to rising operational costs that span from President Donald Trump’s barrage of new tariffs, stubborn inflation and shifts in spending from consumers, whose outlook on the U.S. economy recently plummeted to its lowest level since 2014. At the same time, some businesses are reducing their workforces as they redirect money to artificial intelligence, often baked into wider corporate restructuring.

Beyond the private sector, thousands of federal government employees lost their jobs in cuts taken by the Trump administration last year — forcing many to look for new work. That’s further strained workers' overall sentiment about finding stable employment today.

Here are a few companies that have announced some of the largest job cuts recently.

E-commerce giant Amazon slashed about 16,000 corporate roles on Wednesday — just three months after laying off another 14,000 workers. In its latest round of layoffs, Amazon cited restructuring aimed at “removing bureaucracy" in its operations, but the cuts also arrive as the company continues to ramp up spending on AI. CEO Andy Jassy previously said that he anticipated generative AI to reduce Amazon's corporate workforce.

On Tuesday, United Parcel Service said it plans to cut up to 30,000 operational jobs this year — notably as the package company continues to reduce the number of Amazon shipments it handles amid wider turnaround efforts. UPS said these cuts will be made through a voluntary buyout offer for full-time drivers and attrition. The reductions come on top of a combined 48,000 job cuts that the company disclosed in 2025.

Late last year, Tyson Foods said it would be closing a plant that employed 3,200 people in Lexington, Nebraska — bringing job losses for nearly a third of the small town's population of 11,000. The layoffs began on Jan. 20, but the company notified state officials that it was temporarily retaining under 300 workers to help complete the closure. Tyson in November also announced plans to cut one of two shifts at an Amarillo, Texas plant, eliminating an additional 1,700 jobs.

Also in November, HP said it expected to lay off between 4,000 and 6,000 employees. The cuts are part of a wider initiative from the computer maker to streamline operations, which includes adopting AI to increase productivity. The company aims to complete these actions by the end of the 2028 fiscal year.

Verizon began laying off more than 13,000 employees in November. In a staff memo announcing the cuts, CEO Dan Schulman said that the telecommunications giant needed to simplify operations and “reorient” the entire company.

In mid-October, Nestlé said it would be cutting 16,000 jobs globally — as part of wider cost cutting aimed at reviving its financial performance amid headwinds like rising commodity costs and U.S. imposed tariffs. The Swiss food giant said the layoffs would take place over the next two years.

In September, Danish pharmaceutical company Novo Nordisk said it would cut 9,000 jobs, about 11% of its workforce. The company — which makes drugs like Ozempic and Wegovy — said the layoffs were part of wider restructuring, as it works to sell more obesity and diabetes medications amid rising competition.

Intel has moved to shed thousands of jobs as the struggling chipmaker works to revive its business. Last year, CEO Lip-Bu Tan said Intel expected to end 2025 with 75,000 “core” workers, excluding subsidiaries, through layoffs and attrition. That’s down from 99,500 core employees reported the end of 2024. The company previously announced a 15% workforce reduction.

Last summer, Procter & Gamble said it would cut up to 7,000 jobs over the next two years, 6% of the company’s global workforce. The maker of Tide detergent and Pampers diapers said the cuts were part of a wider restructuring — also arriving amid tariff pressures.

Microsoft initiated two rounds of mass layoffs last year — first impacting 6,000 and then another 9,000 positions. The tech giant cited “organizational changes,” but the cuts also arrived as the company spends heavily on AI.

FILE - This undated combination of photos shows clockwise from top left the company logos for Amazon, Target, Lufthansa Group, UPS, ConocoPhillips, Intel, Microsoft, Procter & Gamble and Nestle. (AP Photo, File)

ISTANBUL (AP) — A Turkish court on Thursday issued a ruling that effectively removed the head of the country’s main opposition party by annulling a 2023 congress that elected him.

The move deals a serious blow to the beleaguered Republican People’s Party, or CHP, as it struggles under waves of legal cases targeting its members and elected officials.

An appeals court in Turkey’s capital Ankara declared the CHP congress that picked Ozgur Ozel as chairman to be null, ordering that he should be replaced by his predecessor, Kemal Kilicdaroglu.

Last year, a lower court ruled against claims of irregularities and misconduct surrounding Ozel’s election but Thursday’s decision overturned the original verdict.

The ruling led to frantic meetings at the CHP’s Ankara headquarters, further threatening the opposition’s chances of unseating President Recep Tayyip Erdogan after more than two decades in office. Large crowds gathered outside the office block and police erected barriers.

The next presidential election is due in 2028 but Erdogan can call for an early vote. His main challenger, the CHP mayor of Istanbul Ekrem Imamoglu, has been imprisoned since March last year and is currently on trial on corruption charges.

The appeals court's decision suspends Ozel and members of the party’s executive board from their duties. They will be “provisionally” replaced by Kilicdaroglu and those who held office before the November 2023 congress.

In comments to broadcaster TV100, Kilicdaroglu called for party members to remain calm. “Our party is a very large party and it will solve its own problems internally,” he said. The 77-year-old was removed following a 13-year tenure as leader, during which the CHP failed to win any national elections.

Ozel, meanwhile, attempted to rally supporters.

“I am not promising you a path to power through a rose garden,” he posted on X following the ruling. “I am promising you the ability to endure suffering but never surrender. I am promising you honor, dignity, courage and struggle!”

The CHP is expected to challenge Thursday’s ruling in the Supreme Court in the coming days.

Justice Minister Akin Gurlek, who oversaw several cases against the CHP in his former role as Istanbul’s chief prosecutor, described the court’s ruling as one that “reinforces our citizens’ trust in democracy.”

Many observers have said that the legal cases against the CHP — mostly centered on corruption allegations — are politically motivated and aimed at neutralizing the party ahead of the next election. The government, however, insists that Turkey’s courts are impartial and act independently of political pressure.

Erdogan has ruled Turkey, first as prime minister and then as president, since 2003. His electoral record suffered a serious blow in 2019 when the CHP seized control of several major cities in local elections. In Istanbul, Imamoglu emerged as a popular and charismatic figure that many felt could successfully topple Erdogan.

FILE - Republican People's Party or (CHP) leader Ozgur Ozel gestures to party members during his speech during a CHP convention, in Ankara, April 6, 2025. (AP Photo/Ali Unal, File)

FILE - Turkish CHP party leader and Nation Alliance's presidential candidate Kemal Kilicdaroglu, center, joins legislators elected to the Grand National Assembly of Turkey as they attend their first parliamentary session, in Ankara, Turkey, June 2, 2023. (AP Photo/Ali Unal, File)