Nearly half (45%) of U.S. managers said their company will likely lay off workers in 2025, according to a Jan. 15 report from ResumeTemplates.com.
Managers cited several reasons for layoffs, including economic struggles, industry-specific challenges, automation and artificial intelligence, overstaffing and anticipated policies from the Trump administration.
“Layoffs can be tricky because you never know if a company will use performance metrics, last in first out, or a percentage across the board to make decisions,” Julia Toothacre, chief career strategist at ResumeTemplates, said in a statement.
In a survey of 1,000 U.S. managers, 11% said their companies will definitely proceed with layoffs in 2025, while 34% said “probably.” Most said they expect modest impacts, with 28% planning to lay off fewer than 5% of their workforce and 44% projecting between 5% and 10%.
In addition, 31% of companies said they already have a hiring freeze in place, and 13% said they’ll likely implement one at some point in 2025.
Beyond that, respondents said the most common cost-reduction strategy will be reductions to bonuses. The next most frequent prediction was reducing office space, followed by reductions to salaries and benefits. While a third of managers said salary reductions will apply across the board, another third said they’ll focus on low-performing employees, and the final third will make cuts in specific ways — only at the executive level or remote roles.
“Cutting salaries is never the right move for an organization, especially if it has recently done a round of layoffs. It’s also not a good look if that same company reported record profits or if their executive teams are getting bonuses,” Toothacre said. “For many professionals, a salary cut or reduction in benefits is a signal it’s time to leave. In some cases, companies might want people to quit so they can consolidate positions or rehire at a lower salary. Either way, salary cuts impact morale and will likely result in lost top talent.”
Job seekers are split about the labor market in 2025, with half reporting optimism about finding a job in the next six months and the other half anticipating difficulties, according to an Express Employment Professionals report. Employed workers said they’re looking for a new role with better compensation, growth opportunities and improved work-life balance — but they also reported barriers such as a lack of hard skills or soft skills.
The 2025 talent hunt will likely remain tough, experts told HR Dive. To stay ahead of the curve, HR teams can prioritize internal advancement, support leadership development and provide upskilling opportunities, as well as use AI tools to sort applications and improve sourcing.