layoffs

plural of layoff
1
as in dismissals
the termination of the employment of an employee or a work force often temporarily even senior employees lost their jobs in the massive layoff

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2
as in winters
a period of often involuntary inactivity or idleness after such a long layoff the boxer badly needed to get back into shape

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Example Sentences

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of layoffs The departments recently faced budget cuts as the city attempted to close the gap of a $1 billion budget shortfall and avoid mass layoffs. Melissa Gomez, Los Angeles Times, 19 June 2026 You might not have been affected by this round of layoffs, but the harms of extreme wealth concentration are coming for all of us. Alex Lee, Mercury News, 19 June 2026 The Destiny 2 team is sitting around doing nothing, waiting for upcoming layoffs, but the entire thing remains bizarre. Paul Tassi, Forbes.com, 19 June 2026 In March, Scentsy announced 87 layoffs, including at its Meridian headquarters east of the warehouse, near Eagle Road. Rose Evans, Idaho Statesman, 18 June 2026 Some Hurricane Hunter staff were affected by the layoffs. Andrew Freedman, CNN Money, 17 June 2026 But Bozeman insisted this isn’t tied to mass layoffs. Andrew Nusca, Fortune, 12 June 2026 Overall, the vibes at SGF 2026 were markedly up compared to those from last year and 2024, when layoffs plaguing the industry and multiple game cancellations and releases were the main topics of conversation. Jennifer Maas, Variety, 11 June 2026 While several of these positions are vacant to avoid layoffs, representatives said the reductions would nevertheless devastate public safety efforts. Reeti Malhotra june 11, Sacbee.com, 11 June 2026
Recent Examples of Synonyms for layoffs
Noun
  • Following the hiring of executive producer Nick Bilton May 28, the stalwart newsmagazine has seen a wave of dismissals — among them, correspondents Sharyn Alfonsi and Cecilia Vega, as well as executive editor Draggan Mihailovich.
    Natalie Oganesyan, Deadline, 8 June 2026
  • Ivan Juric failed, even as a Gasperini disciple, to provide continuity and struggled for credibility after his dismissals from Roma and Southampton last season.
    James Horncastle, New York Times, 2 June 2026
Noun
  • Officials said a warming climate and milder winters allow ticks to remain active for longer periods of the year and expand their geographic ranges into areas that used to be too cold to sustain them.
    Stephen Underwood, Hartford Courant, 15 June 2026
  • The Pacific Northwest, on the other hand, generally gets drier winters.
    Los Angeles Times, Los Angeles Times, 15 June 2026
Noun
  • Breslow knows a sell-off would mean admitting the firings didn’t work.
    Jen McCaffrey, New York Times, 17 June 2026
  • Donovan’s departure followed the April 6 firings of executive vice president of basketball operations Artūras Karnišovas and general manager Marc Eversley with four games left in the season.
    Julia Poe, Chicago Tribune, 15 June 2026
Noun
  • When everyone from operators to engineers and managers are able to discuss yields, downtimes, reworks and even traceability in terms of factual data, discussions can become significantly more fruitful.
    Ihor Yurchenko, Forbes.com, 28 May 2026
  • The average response time for phone calls dropped to 6 minutes from 30 minutes in the prior fiscal year; field office wait times decreased to 23 minutes; and removal of online service downtimes has benefited an additional 125,000 users in a single week, according to the agency's findings.
    Suzanne Blake, MSNBC Newsweek, 4 Aug. 2025
Noun
  • The furloughs come just weeks before the museum’s annual Juneteenth celebration, as well as the third anniversary of its opening on June 27.
    News Desk, Artforum, 12 June 2026
  • Many employees will also be forced to take unpaid furloughs.
    David Garrick, San Diego Union-Tribune, 10 June 2026
Noun
  • Yes, there were lulls, to be sure.
    Dalton Ross, Entertainment Weekly, 22 May 2026
  • The quality, however, doesn’t make for a pleasant viewing experience, especially during lulls in the season like the one the Dodgers are currently battling through.
    Maddie Lee, Los Angeles Times, 13 May 2026
Noun
  • Add in concerns about heat, commercialization—my son is among those grumbling about water breaks during games, even when temperatures are mild—and the sheer size of the tournament, and there appears to be no shortage of reasons to complain.
    Kelly Phillips Erb, Forbes.com, 13 June 2026
  • The crews are working to create a network of vegetation-free pathways, called fuel breaks, that can slow fires and give firefighters strategic access to wildlands to combat blazes.
    Los Angeles Times, Los Angeles Times, 13 June 2026

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Cite this Entry

“Layoffs.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/layoffs. Accessed 21 Jun. 2026.

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