layoffs

Definition of layoffsnext
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 layoffs stem largely from funding changes already set in motion by Los Angeles County, which voted in April 2025 to create its own Department of Homeless Services and Housing, and shift hundreds of millions of dollars away from LAHSA. Teresa Liu, Daily News, 25 Apr. 2026 Amazon eliminated 30,000 jobs across two rounds of layoffs in January and October. Lisa Eadicicco, CNN Money, 24 Apr. 2026 The layoffs follow earlier cuts in the company’s Reality Labs division and elsewhere. Andrew Nusca, Fortune, 24 Apr. 2026 Other Big Tech firms, including Amazon and Oracle, have undergone layoffs amid the AI expenditure boom. Semafor Events, semafor.com, 24 Apr. 2026 However, even before the war in Iran, the Saudi government had failed to send funding as agreed, prompting the Met to launch a series of cost-cutting measures, including preemptive layoffs in January. Devorah Lauter, ARTnews.com, 24 Apr. 2026 Meta informs staff layoffs affecting 8,000 employees amid AI push – Amid a massive strategic pivot toward artificial intelligence, Meta has informed its staff of impending layoffs expected to affect approximately 8,000 employees as the tech giant restructures its workforce. Staff, FOXNews.com, 24 Apr. 2026 Nike announced a new round of layoffs, affecting approximately 1,400 employees across the organization, mostly concentrated in its technology department. Anniek Bao, CNBC, 24 Apr. 2026 On Wednesday, the mayor presented the latest version of his plan to close the $146 million deficit, with more than half covered by the savings from about 130 layoffs. U T Editorial Board, San Diego Union-Tribune, 18 Apr. 2026
Recent Examples of Synonyms for layoffs
Noun
  • After two dismissals, 8 residents filed a third lawsuit against VENU in January.
    John Wenzel, Denver Post, 14 Apr. 2026
  • News of the dismissals was first reported by The New York Times.
    Laura Romero, ABC News, 13 Apr. 2026
Noun
  • Harsh wartime winters have also taken a toll.
    Derek Gatopoulos, Los Angeles Times, 19 Apr. 2026
  • His wife at the time stayed in the Bay Area for work while Taylor spent the winters—and one full year—at Sugar Bowl with the kids.
    Tori Latham, Robb Report, 19 Apr. 2026
Noun
  • The department paid nearly $3 million to former employees since 2019 to settle accusations of pay, age, gender and disability discrimination, whistleblower protection violations, and retaliatory firings.
    Katie Langford, Denver Post, 24 Apr. 2026
  • Those firings included Secretary of State Rex Tillerson, White House chief of staff John Kelly, and Defense Secretary Mark Esper.
    Lauren Green, The Washington Examiner, 23 Apr. 2026
Noun
  • 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
  • No layoffs or furloughs are planned and vendors will be paid.
    Jordan Valinsky, CNN Money, 17 Apr. 2026
  • No employee layoffs or furloughs are planned and vendors will be paid on schedule, according to QVC Group.
    Todd Spangler, Variety, 17 Apr. 2026
Noun
  • Not all parts of the country seem to have the same pattern, although the data points to school breaks as relative lulls.
    Meg Wingerter, Denver Post, 18 Apr. 2026
  • Acting in a movie involves a lot of waiting around, too—as the crew repositions cameras and adjusts the lighting, among other things—and those lulls provided me with plenty of time to feel queasy with anxiety.
    Naomi Fry, New Yorker, 14 Mar. 2026
Noun
  • Without any workplace oversight, the baristas did the obvious, padding their breaks by ten, fifteen, twenty minutes.
    Saïd Sayrafiezadeh, New Yorker, 26 Apr. 2026
  • The breaks kept coming for Orlando.
    Chris Hays, The Orlando Sentinel, 26 Apr. 2026

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“Layoffs.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/layoffs. Accessed 27 Apr. 2026.

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