November 2025: AI Reshapes the Job Market as 60,000+ Workers Face Layoffs

November 2025 will be remembered as a watershed moment in the American job market. As we close out the month, the data reveals a stark reality: over 60,000 workers across diverse industries have been laid off, with artificial intelligence integration emerging as the single most cited reason for workforce reductions. This isn't just another round of corporate belt-tightening. It represents a fundamental transformation in how companies structure their workforces for the AI era.

The Numbers Tell a Sobering Story

Our analysis of November layoffs reveals several critical trends that every job seeker, business leader, and policy maker needs to understand. The month saw major announcements from household names including Verizon (up to 15,000 positions), Amazon (14,000 corporate roles), Oracle (10,000 as part of restructuring), IBM (5,400 employees), and PwC (5,600 globally). But the raw numbers only tell part of the story.

What makes November 2025 particularly significant is the consistency of the narrative across sectors. From Big Tech to telecommunications, from financial services to manufacturing, the reasoning behind workforce reductions follows a remarkably similar pattern: companies are restructuring to integrate AI capabilities, streamline operations for efficiency, and pivot from headcount expansion to technological optimization.

AI: The Elephant in Every Boardroom

If there's one theme that dominated November's layoff announcements, it's artificial intelligence. The examples are striking:

Salesforce made perhaps the most direct connection, cutting its customer support team from 9,000 to 5,000 employees specifically citing "benefits and efficiencies of the company's new AI model." This represents a 44% reduction in a department that has traditionally been labor-intensive.

IBM confirmed it is laying off approximately 5,400 employees as part of reshaping its "workforce strategy" around AI integration, explicitly stating the need to "rebalance to have the right people with the right skills" for an AI-first approach.

Amazon announced 14,000 corporate layoffs while simultaneously emphasizing increased investment in AI capabilities. CEO Andy Jassy's focus on "streamlining corporate structure" and "removing layers" directly ties to automation of middle-management functions that AI tools increasingly handle.

SK Telecom in South Korea pursued an aggressive restructuring of its AI operations, offering voluntary retirement packages to approximately 1,000 employees in its AI Company-in-Company unit, with 40% of executives already departed, as it consolidates operations toward its goal of becoming an "AI-first" company targeting $3.5 billion in annual AI revenue by 2030.

Even Vista Equity Partners, the private equity giant, announced plans to reduce its workforce by up to one-third over the coming years, explicitly citing AI tools that will automate "routine production tasks, including compiling investor presentations, creating marketing materials, and aggregating data for deal sourcing and analysis."

The Automation Wave Hits White-Collar Work

What's particularly notable about November's layoffs is the target: white-collar, often highly-skilled positions that were traditionally considered insulated from automation. The affected roles include:

• Customer support specialists (Salesforce)
• Junior analysts and investor relations professionals (Vista Equity)
• Engineering and R&D roles (Synopsys, Intel)
• Data scientists and software engineers (SK Telecom)
• Business support functions including marketing, IT, communications, and HR (PwC)
• Corporate management layers (Amazon, Verizon)

These aren't factory floor jobs being automated by robotics. These are college-educated professionals performing knowledge work that, until recently, seemed uniquely human. The message is clear: no sector is immune from AI-driven transformation.

Regional and Industry Breakdown

While technology companies dominated headlines, November's job cuts spread across virtually every major industry:

Technology & Semiconductors: Intel continues its painful restructuring with 669 additional layoffs in Oregon, bringing the state's total job losses for 2025 to over 3,000. The company reported a nearly $19 billion loss in fiscal year 2024, highlighting the financial pressures driving these cuts. Synopsys announced up to 2,800 positions will be eliminated following its $35 billion acquisition of Ansys, with the majority of cuts expected in fiscal year 2026.

Telecommunications: Verizon's announcement of its largest-ever layoffs (10,000-15,000 positions) reflects the brutal competitive dynamics in the wireless market. New CEO Dan Schulman's vision to create a "simpler, leaner, and scrappier business" comes after three consecutive quarters of subscriber losses and mounting pressure from AT&T, T-Mobile, and cable operators entering mobile services.

Financial Services: PwC's 5,600 global layoffs mark a significant shift for the consulting giant, which abandoned its ambitious 2021 pledge to hire 100,000 new employees globally by mid-2026. The firm's revenue growth slowed to 2.9% in fiscal 2025, marking a third consecutive year of decline, prompting a strategic pivot toward "quality over size."

Manufacturing & Industrials: Oshkosh Defense laid off 160 workers due to overstaffing following the loss of a major military vehicle contract. Eastman Chemical cut 980 positions as part of broader cost-cutting measures. Even Topgolf Callaway eliminated 300 positions in direct response to tariff impacts.

Real Estate & Consumer Services: Opendoor Technologies cut 21.4% of its workforce (300 employees) as new CEO Kaz Nejatian pushes to return the company to profitability by 2026, emphasizing a strategic shift toward becoming "a software and AI company."

The Reasons Companies Are Giving

While "AI integration" dominates the narrative, the specific justifications companies provide reveal deeper strategic shifts:

Overcorrection from pandemic-era hiring: Amazon and others acknowledge they overhired during the COVID-19 boom years and are now rightsizing.

Margin pressure and profitability focus: Companies like Opendoor, Spirit Airlines, and Hormel Foods explicitly cite the need to achieve or restore profitability in challenging economic conditions.

Post-acquisition integration: Synopsys's cuts follow its massive Ansys acquisition, while SK Telecom is consolidating multiple AI organizations that created "overlapping tasks."

Competitive repositioning: Verizon and Intel are both restructuring to regain competitive ground lost to rivals in their respective markets.

Regulatory and market shifts: Gameskraft saw an 83.5% workforce reduction following India's ban on real-money gaming, demonstrating how quickly regulatory changes can devastate employment.

What This Means for Job Seekers

If you're navigating the job market in late 2025 or heading into 2026, November's data provides critical intelligence:

1. AI skills are no longer optional. Every industry is integrating AI tools. Whether you're in marketing, customer service, financial analysis, or engineering, demonstrating proficiency with AI tools and platforms is increasingly essential. The workers who will thrive are those who can work alongside AI systems, not compete with them.

2. Corporate roles face ongoing pressure. The "streamlining" and "layer removal" we're seeing isn't a one-time event. Companies have discovered they can operate with leaner corporate structures by leveraging AI for coordination, analysis, and decision-support functions that previously required large teams.

3. Certain roles are more vulnerable. Customer support, junior analyst positions, routine data aggregation roles, and business support functions (marketing, HR, IT support) appear particularly exposed to AI-driven automation.

4. Geographic concentration matters. Tech hubs like Oregon (Intel), California (Synopsys, tech companies), and corporate centers continue to see disproportionate impacts. However, remote work means restructuring can affect workers anywhere.

5. Public vs. private company dynamics. Publicly traded companies facing shareholder pressure appear more likely to pursue aggressive restructuring. Several November layoffs were announced shortly after earnings calls or CEO transitions.

The Outlook: Turbulence Ahead

November's layoff announcements included multiple forward-looking warnings. Synopsys stated that "the majority of workforce reductions are anticipated to occur in fiscal year 2026." Vista Equity Partners' plan to reduce staff by one-third will unfold "over the coming years." Amazon's restructuring is described as ongoing. These aren't one-time events, they're the beginning of a multi-year transformation.

The job market heading into 2026 will likely be characterized by:

• Continued AI-driven restructuring as companies refine their operating models
• Skills-based hiring replacing traditional credential-based approaches
• Increased volatility as companies experiment with AI integration and course-correct
• Growing divergence between workers who can leverage AI and those who cannot
• Pressure on mid-level corporate roles as organizational hierarchies flatten

A Call for Adaptation

November 2025's job market data doesn't paint a hopeful picture for those seeking stability in traditional employment. However, it does provide clarity. The transformation isn't coming, it's here. Companies across every sector are restructuring for an AI-augmented future, and the pace of change is accelerating.

For workers, the imperative is clear: adapt or become obsolete. That means investing in AI literacy, developing skills that complement rather than compete with automation, building resilience for career transitions, and staying informed about which roles and industries are expanding versus contracting.

The companies succeeding in this transition aren't simply cutting costs, they're fundamentally reimagining how work gets done. As we move into 2026, the workers and organizations that thrive will be those who can navigate this transformation with both realism and agility.

The numbers from November are sobering, but they're also instructive. Understanding these trends isn't about doom and gloom, it's about making informed decisions in a rapidly changing employment landscape. At theNumbers.io, we'll continue tracking these developments, providing the data and analysis you need to navigate what promises to be a transformative period in the American job market.