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Suzanne Blake

By Suzanne Blake

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Many companies have already pre-announced their layoffs for May, and employees across several industries will be impacted.

Companies are required to send out a Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification Act (WARN) notice before implementing mass layoffs. More than 120 employers are planning to let workers go in May, according to WARNTracker.com.

Why It Matters

Companies are facing rising costs and shifting consumer demand, causing many to evoke mass layoffs across departments.

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However, some of the other layoffs are happening as corporations seek to maximize profits rather than necessity, and the trend is happening across industries, experts say.

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What To Know

Nearly 130 companies will be letting employees go throughout the month of May.

The full list, based on WARN notices via WARNTracker.com, includes:

The layoffs are occurring across industries, from retail and food service to tech and financial companies. The number of employees being let go per company varies from under 10 to hundreds.

What People Are Saying

HR Bryan Driscoll told Newsweek: "Workers should brace themselves, yes, not because they're underperforming, but because employers are still addicted to short-term balance sheet optics. We're watching health insurers and government agencies slash jobs while claiming they're realigning or restructuring. That's just code for cutting people to cut costs."

Alex Beene, a financial literacy instructor for the University of Tennessee at Martin, told Newsweek: "It's a tale of two different kinds of layoffs. Federal government entities like the Department of Health and Human Services are going through a dramatic restructuring following the arrival of a new administration, meaning some positions will either be eliminated or combined with other roles for efficiency standards. At the same time, we're also seeing health insurers scaling back their workforces. Rising medical expenses paired with those who are insured utilizing their coverage more frequently have some insurers cutting jobs to free up cash in the face of lower revenues."

What Happens Next

Driscoll said companies will continue to cut jobs as a way to prioritize profits, and now the U.S. government has gotten on board as well.

"When public institutions like HHS do the same, it reflects a political and systemic failure to invest in the workforce needed to serve communities," Driscoll said.

"This isn't about the economy being weak - though it is getting there and there's just one person to blame. This is more about a labor market that continues to reward instability for workers while rewarding stockholders with efficiency and predictability. And no one at the top is skipping their bonus."

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