The year has barely started, and the mood in the US job market is already tense. In just a few weeks, some of the world’s biggest companies have announced huge layoffs, leaving offices quieter and warehouses emptier. Close to 6 lakh jobs are expected to vanish, making this one of the roughest starts to a year for workers in a long time.Amazon is right at the centre of it. The company has confirmed that around 16,000 corporate roles are being cut in this latest round – its second big trim since late 2025. Add that to the 14,000 jobs it had already let go earlier, and you’re looking at nearly 30,000 roles gone worldwide. Most of the damage is in the US, but teams in Canada and parts of Asia are also getting hit.UPS isn’t far behind. The delivery giant says it will cut up to 30,000 jobs in 2026, after already letting go of almost 48,000 people last year. As the company pulls back from parts of its partnership with Amazon and reshuffles how it runs deliveries and warehouses, the biggest blow is falling on ground staff – the people who actually move the parcels.Put it all together, and the pace of job cuts has jumped sharply – about 42% higher than this time last year.
It’s not just Amazon and UPS
What’s really worrying is that this isn’t a problem limited to a couple of headline-making companies. Layoffs are popping up across tech, banking, retail, and manufacturing. From flashy Silicon Valley firms to old-school retailers and big banks, companies are tightening their belts and quietly freezing hiring.
And this time, it’s not even about a classic recession. Many of these companies are still making money. The real driver is change – more automation, more AI, and a constant push to run leaner teams. In plain terms, companies are rethinking how much work actually needs people, and some jobs are getting cut out of the picture altogether.
What’s happening inside Amazon
At Amazon, the cuts are part of a bigger shake-up of how the company is run behind the scenes. Even after posting strong numbers in 2025, the company is trimming layers of management and speeding up its shift towards AI tools and automated systems.This round has hit teams like HR, AWS support, operations, and other corporate departments. In the US, affected employees have been told they’ll get severance and a few months to look for internal roles.But for many workers, the official talk of “efficiency” doesn’t make it any easier. Jobs that once felt safe are now being handled by software. Work that used to need whole teams can now be done by a handful of people with the help of AI.Amazon says this is about long-term restructuring, not endless rounds of layoffs. Still, internal chatter suggests the company is serious about staying lean and leaning harder on automation going forward.
UPS and fewer hands in logistics
UPS is also in the middle of a major reset. The plan to cut up to 30,000 jobs in 2026 will mostly hit delivery routes, sorting centres, and warehouses. Some people will leave voluntarily, some roles will fade out over time, and some facilities will shut down altogether.After losing nearly 48,000 jobs in 2025, the scale of change is huge. Fewer delivery workers on the road. Fewer warehouses running. A much smaller workforce overall.A big reason behind this shift is UPS moving away from low-margin Amazon deliveries. As Amazon builds more of its own delivery network, UPS is turning towards areas like healthcare logistics and specialised freight – work that relies more on machines and tech than large teams of people.Unions like the Teamsters have already raised concerns, warning that workers are paying the price for this race towards automation. The clash between old-school jobs and tech-driven efficiency is only getting louder.
What this means for workers in the US
Last year was already tough, with over a million layoffs across industries – numbers not seen since the pandemic days. Some months were the worst in decades. And 2026 doesn’t look any kinder so far.Tech, telecom, finance, retail – no sector seems untouched. Hiring has slowed, job openings are shrinking, and people who lose their jobs are finding it harder to land new ones quickly. The economy may not be in a full-blown recession, but the job market definitely feels colder.For workers, the reality is uncomfortable. Skills that can’t be easily replaced by AI – like cybersecurity, data analysis, machine learning, and specialised tech work – are becoming more valuable. But learning those skills takes time, money, and support, and not everyone has that luxury.
A new, uneasy phase of work
This isn’t just a bad few months – it feels like a shift in how companies think about people and productivity. After years of aggressive hiring during and after the pandemic, businesses are now pulling back. Automation, AI, and smaller teams are becoming the new normal.Companies may talk about “future-proofing” and “long-term growth,” but for the people losing their jobs, it’s deeply personal. As 2026 rolls on, one thing is becoming clear: the future of work in the US won’t be shaped only by the economy – it’ll be shaped by how fast technology changes what work even looks like.
