Word on the streets is that Amazon is cutting 14,000 personnel in its vast corporate offices. That is a lot of people soon to be out of work. The greater Seattle area is in shambles, as the kids say these days. This news comes only a few days after Target announced similar corporate job cuts. All of this coming right before the (hopefully) busy holiday shopping season. Who has money to spend right now, honestly.
The pending Target layoffs hits close to home as my cousin works there in corporate. The problem is, he’s nowhere near the company headquarters in Minnesota. A corporation looking to trim down will certainly look first at folks working off-site, no? I hope the best for my cousin.
The best did not happen for my friend who got laid of from Stanford earlier this year. Even education, the once believed lead-pipe lock of job security (especially at a world renowned university like Stanford), is not immune from the current economic headwinds. I somewhat worry for my position, because I too work for a university. An institution that just this week forecasts dire budget straits for the coming fiscal year. Not great!
We’ve seen so many layoff news throughout 2025, and yet the U.S. stock market is currently, as of writing, sitting at all-time highs. One suspects, basing on sheer mathematics, the bottom has to fall out eventually, no? Folks out of a job aren’t wont to keep on spending.
I’m glad I recently downsized my car to something cheaper, netting a solid difference to add to the rainy day war chest. The current economy is too uncertain to be making daring money moves, at least for someone in my lower middle class position. If I do get unfortunately laid off, I want to have at least 12 months of money runway. I know, right to privilege jail, right away.
To industry!