Starbucks, Meta, JP Morgan Chase, Chevron…they are just a few of the large public companies that are laying off tens of thousands of workers in the first two months of 2025.

You’re not imagining things. These companies are always in a cycle of hire, layoff, hire layoff. By the time you are done processing a round of layoffs, hundreds of new jobs are open again. The whiplash doesn’t inspire a lot of confidence in job seekers or in job security.

What do these companies get out of this cycle other than bad press, employee disengagement, lawsuits, and paying out huge severance packages?

Market Conditions Changed and Revenue Targets Were Missed

If revenue can’t support current costs, layoffs might be necessary.  But when you see companies report record earnings in Q1 and immediately followed by layoffs in the beginning of Q2, it really makes people really scratch their heads.

The Impact Employees Make Doesn’t Align with Compensation

Is it possible to out-earn your position?  Product engineering groups, go-to-market teams scale up and down for new product launches. Once those products launch, can companies be expected to keep paying high salaries for support?

Defining Performance

Sometimes companies are going to conclude that certain jobs shouldn’t be paying as much as they previously did.  This is a tough pill to swallow.  Are managers afraid to fire low performing individuals and wait to call it a layoff?

If you are a job seeker or an employee who is currently riding the roller coaster of hiring and layoffs at your current organization – hedge against your redundancy. Ask for regular, documented reviews.  You should always know where you stand and the value that you bring to the organization. In our decades of staffing experience, we know that the squeaky wheel gets the grease.  Take control of your individual job security.