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Layoff announcements from U.S. employers have increased 80% to 696,309 job cuts through May of this year, compared to the 385,859 cuts announced throughout the first five months of 2024, according to the latest layoffs report from Challenger, Gray & Christmas. Federal government agencies have been most impacted by planned job cuts in 2025, with 284,827 job reductions year to date, compared to 36,325 U.S. government job cuts announced during the same period last year. Retail is the second-leading industry in job cuts this year, with 75,802 cuts since the start of 2025. That’s a 274% increase in retail job reductions compared to the same period last year, when U.S. companies announced 20,276 layoffs. Why are companies laying off workers? According to the report, DOGE-related efforts remain the leading reason given for job cut announcements this year. This includes reductions in federal employee and contractor roles, and private nonprofit layoffs resulting from federal funding cuts. Market and economic conditions were the second-most cited explanation for announced U.S. layoffs, followed by store closings. In a news release discussing the layoff report, Andrew Challenger, senior vice president of Challenger, Gray & Christmas said, “Tariffs, funding cuts, consumer spending, and overall economic pessimism are putting intense pressure on companies’ workforces. Companies are spending less, slowing hiring, and sending layoff notices.” Retail store closures are trending upward Store closings being among the top reasons cited for U.S. retail layoffs is unsurprising. Fast Company has written extensively about retail store closings throughout the U.S., from companies like Kohl’s, Macy’s, and JCPenney. While some retailers have chosen to shutter the doors of some locations, others have filed for bankruptcy protection and announced company-wide store closures. In January 2025, Joann Fabrics filed for bankruptcy for a second time. The fabric and crafts store previously filed for bankruptcy protection in March 2024. Similarly, Rite Aid publicized its decision to file for Chapter 11 bankruptcy on May 5. The retail pharmacy first filed for bankruptcy in October 2023. Hiring efforts are up slightly, yet remain sluggish As for hiring efforts, U.S. companies have announced 79,741 planned hires through May of this year, an increase of 57% from the same period last year. However, planned hiring announcements remain historically low compared to pre-pandemic and early-pandemic years.
Category:
E-Commerce
Just over six months ago, Fast Company asked: How long will Elon Musk and Donald Trumps lovefest last? Well, we have our answer. This week, tensions escalated between the two over Trumps proposed One Big Beautiful Bill aimed at cutting taxes, which Musk derided as a disgusting abomination. Their disagreement deepened over electric vehicle mandates, which Musk strongly supports. During a White House photo op, the president expressed that he was very disappointed with Musks response, threatened to cancel federal contracts held by Musks companies, and claimed he had asked Musk to leave his administrationa claim Musk denies. Musk has been no less turbulent in handling the breakup. First he mocked Trumps tax bill as a disgusting abomination. Then he claimed: Without me, Trump would have lost the election, accusing the president of showing such ingratitude after Musk allegedly bankrolled large parts of his presidential campaigncontributing a reported quarter of a billion dollars. And, of course, there’s Musk’s 130-day stint as head of the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), a position he left in recent weeks. Musk then took a more personal turn, alleging without evidence that the president is named in the controversial “Epstein Files”documents related to convicted pedophile Jeffrey Epsteinand suggesting that Trumps inclusion is the reason the records have not been released. Mark this post for the future. The truth will come out, he added. Trump, for his part, was taking no prisoners on social media. The easiest way to save money in our Budget, Billions and Billions of Dollars, is to terminate Elons Governmental Subsidies and Contracts. I was always surprised that Biden didnt do it! the president posted on Truth Social. In response, Musk announced that SpaceX would begin decommissioning its Dragon spacecrafton which NASA is heavily reliantimmediately. This allin case youre wonderingoccurred over the course of a few hours. Short seller Jim Chaos has reportedly called it the most predictable breakup ever. Wedbush Securities principal analyst Dan Ives said the rift was jaw-dropping and a shock to the market, and putting major fear for Tesla investors on what is ahead. Neither Musk nor the White House responded to Fast Companys requests for comment. But after such a dramatic fallout, both men may be questioning whether their short-lived bromance was worth it. The real question now is: Who will emerge the least battered and bruised? Trumps connection with Musk has hurt his image among many who believe hes become a puppet of the South African entrepreneur. Musks comment that Trump was not grateful for his support only reinforces that perception. Trump is also left with the challenge of what to do about DOGE, says Merici Vinton, a former U.S. Digital Service official. The driving force behind DOGE was power to Musk and his friends, not the people, she says. With Elon and Trumps breakup, every DOGE teammate remaining inside of government is loyal to Musk, and DOGE is now a national security threat. As for Musk, his electric vehicle company Tesla is grappling with a sharp decline in global sales as consumers grow disillusioned with his combative approach to government. The companys stock has fallen 15% in a single day amid Musks public feud with Trump on social mediaand continues to drop. More than $150 billion has been wiped from Teslas market value due to the spat. The tax bill Musk so strongly opposes, if passed, could saddle his companies with billions in additional costs. And with every incendiary tweet, the likelihood of his companies federal contracts being canceled only increases. I don’t think anything Musk has done in the last year has been worth it for him, says Steven Buckley, who researches U.S. politics and social media at City St. Georges, University of London. In less than a year Musk has pissed off all Democrats, wasted millions of dollars on various state elections, trashed what positive branding Tesla had, and now has seemingly generated a large rift within the Republican caucus. Buckley notes that the only silver lining for Musk in his association with Trumpthe potential for favorable government contractsnow appears to be in serious jeopardy, with Trump himself threatening to revoke them. In the long term, Musks reputation may have taken a lasting hit. No sane Democrat will want to work with or give contracts to Musk’s businesses in the future, Buckley says. And it seems there will now be many Republicans thinking the same as well.
Category:
E-Commerce
Our sky-mall future is officially here: Walmart and drone company Wing are rolling out drone delivery to a number of additional metro areas in what the companies are calling the worlds largest drone delivery expansion” ever. The service will be available for Walmart customers in Atlanta; Charlotte, North Carolina; Houston; Orlando, Florida; and Tampa, Florida, by midyear 2026, the companies said Thursday. The announcement means that more than 100 Walmart stores in those cities will be folded into its Wing delivery partnership, including the 18 Supercenters in the Dallas area, where the two companies have already sent customer orders flying. Drone delivery is already real for millions of people in places like Dallas-Fort Worth, Wing CEO Adam Woodworth tells Fast Company. “We’re excited to make it real for more people than ever before. [Image: Walmart] Identified flying objects Business-to-consumer drone delivery still felt like a far-off proposition not that long ago, but the market is poised to explode. A recent report from PwC estimated that $251 million worth of goods were delivered globally to consumers by drone last year, a number that could reach $65.2 billion by 2034. Walmart, however, does not have the U.S. skies all to itself. Amazon, whose founder, Jeff Bezos, famously introduced the idea of drone delivery to American viewers on a 2013 episode of 60 Minutes, has set a goal of delivering 500 million packages a year via drone by the end of the 2020s. Walmart first launched drone delivery with Wing in fall 2023, and it works in a fairly simple way: Customers place an order with Walmart (or through Wings marketplace, or a third-party service such as DoorDash), and select drone delivery, while specifying an exact delivery location. [Photo: Walmart] The drone is loaded up with a customers order, takes off, and travels up to 65 mph to the location. In all, customers can receive their orders much faster than through other delivery methods, as the drones can cut across the sky, avoiding traffic and other obstacles. We find drone delivery takes off in more densely populated areas where people rely on personal cars, says Woodworth, such as sprawling cities like Dallas. Georgia, North Carolina, and Florida offer some of the same advantages Wing and Walmart have seen in Texas, with a real appetite from customers and government partners ready and excited to work with us and bring drone delivery to their communities. Walmarts leadership is likewise excited about the expansion. As we look ahead, drone delivery will remain a key part of our commitment to redefining retail,” said Greg Cathey, Walmart’s senior vice president of U.S. transformation and innovation, in a statement. “Were pushing the boundaries of convenience to better serve our customers, making shopping faster and easier than ever before.”
Category:
E-Commerce
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