86,000 Jobs Cut Last Month

How many devices walked out with them?

The past month brought a fresh surge of layoffs, RTO mandates, and job-market changes—and these shifts directly impact how IT and HR teams should manage offboarding, redeployments, and onboarding seamlessly.

Big layoffs & restructurings

• Novo Nordisk announced 9,000 job cuts (~11.5%) in a major restructuring to refocus on core businesses.

• Energy is feeling it too: ConocoPhillips outlined plans to reduce up to 25% of its global workforce as part of a cost-cutting overhaul.

• Across the economy, August U.S. job-cut announcements rose to ~86,000 (up 39% MoM) per Challenger, Gray & Christmas.

RTO (return-to-office) momentum

• Microsoft formally set a 3-days-in-office baseline, phasing in from February 2026 (Puget Sound first, then U.S., then international). This follows hints in August and aligns with broader pushbacks on fully remote work.

• NBCUniversal announced that hybrid employees must return to the office four days a week starting January 5, 2026 (Mon–Thu), with Friday as optional remote. Those unwilling to comply—VP level and below in the U.S. and U.K.—can opt for a voluntary exit assistance package. This includes eight weeks of base pay, three months of continued healthcare coverage, and bonus eligibility.

Job-market signals

• The U.S. labor market was revised down by 911,000 jobs through March 2025, underscoring softer underlying momentum.

Reshuffling, not just cuts

• Even as some teams shrink, others expand—especially AI and core product—though Meta’s recent AI hiring freeze after a recruitment spree highlights how selective and stop-start these moves can be.

With layoffs increasing, more stringent RTO policies, and structural shifts across industries, IT and HR leaders must act now to safeguard data, assets, and continuity. Our IT Asset Retrieval services offer secure, cost-efficient, and highly responsive solutions for offboarding those departing employees.