The many stories I read on here are just brutal. 2025 seems to be a year in which many people get the cut, and often in very heartless ways.

I feel it wasn’t like that in the past. I know it also depends on the economy, but even during the 2008/2009 recession I feel I didn’t hear that many sad layoffs stories? Or is this because I simply wasn’t affected?

I am in Europe, a friend of mine works in software sales. He told me an entire customer team was unable to make it to a meeting because everyone got laid off.

But profits have been high in the last year, where is all the money now? Companies didn’t care to plan for this and now their employees have to suffer for it.

And there seems to be so little regard for the fact that a layoff will impact the affected individuals deeply and make them feel existential dread. Many won’t recover. There are statistics that show suicide risk is higher after being laid off. But companies just don’t seem to care.

In contrast, there seem to be more layoffs every day, and CEOs do not even pretend to feel shame anymore.

Layoffs are not a normal way to increase profit, they come at a high human cost. But companies do not seem to want to use them as an absolute last resort in 2025. What will that mean for future employer- employee relationship?