At present, many industries around the world are ushering in a new wave of layoffs. In the past two months, many leading companies in the global automotive, pharmaceutical, aerospace, energy and consumer goods sectors have announced layoffs, ranging in size from thousands to tens of thousands.

Global industry giants have announced layoffs in the past two months

The automobile industry has become the hardest hit area of this round of layoffs. French media reported earlier this month that Groupe Renault plans to implement a "voluntary separation" program to cut 3,000 jobs worldwide. Ford Motor Company of the United States announced in September that it would lay off 1,000 jobs at its Cologne, Germany plant in early 2026 due to weak demand in the European electric vehicle market, involving the vehicle production department for the first time.

The supply chain side is also under obvious pressure. German auto parts giant ZF announced 7,600 layoffs earlier this month; Another industry giant, Bosch, plans to further cut about 13,000 jobs by the end of 2030. Some analysts pointed out that the electrification transformation has led to a surplus of jobs in traditional fuel vehicles, while weak demand and rising costs in the European market have further intensified the pressure of layoffs.

The global pharmaceutical industry has also entered a stage of structural adjustment. Denmark's Novo Nordisk announced in September that it would cut 9,000 jobs worldwide, accounting for about 11% of its workforce. Merck, Moderna and other companies have also launched layoff plans this year. Some industry analysts said that challenges such as patent expiration and intensified competition are the reasons for the wave of layoffs in the pharmaceutical industry.

In addition, since September, German Lufthansa, American energy giant ExxonMobil, food giant Nestlé, coffee chain brand Starbucks, and Dutch Heineken Beer Company have also announced layoffs. American consulting firm Accenture announced that it has laid off more than 11,000 employees in the past three months, warning that there will be more layoffs in the future if employees cannot adapt to the needs of artificial intelligence.

CNBC reported that many companies have announced layoffs on the grounds of "turning to artificial intelligence to improve efficiency." However, some critics believe that artificial intelligence is becoming an excuse for some large companies to lay off employees. When companies use artificial intelligence to lead to large-scale layoffs, it has not yet arrived.

The American think tank company.

Reducing jobs by more than one per cent globally

According to U.S. media reports on the 23rd, the U.S. renowned think tank company will cut 11 percent of its employees worldwide, and one-third of the dismissed personnel belonged to the company's headquarters, because of "insufficient workload."

According to the Los Angeles Daily, a spokesman for RAND confirmed that it would cut 192 jobs worldwide, according to a notice submitted to the relevant departments in California on 21 December, the cuts included accountants, policy analysts, economists, engineers and political scientists.

It is understood that RAND Corporation is headquartered in Santa Monica, California, with offices in Boston, Pittsburgh and Washington, three offices in Europe and one office in Australia. Founded in 1946, RAND Corporation is a non-profit organization with a long history in the field of national security policy consulting. This think tank operates four R&D centers funded by the U.S. federal government, and its income source relies heavily on federal funds.

U.S. Retail giant Tagit

Reduction of 1,800 jobs

On the 23rd, local time, the U.S. retail giant Tagit said it would cut a total of 1,800 jobs at its U.S. headquarters. It is that this was Tagit's largest cut in a decade. As of the closing of the 23rd, Tagit's share price rose 0.24 percent.

In an email sent to its internal employees, Target showed that it plans to lay off a total of 1800 jobs, including 1000 layoffs and 800 vacant positions, equivalent to 8% of its global corporate workforce. It is reported that the layoffs are mainly aimed at Target's U.S. headquarters in Minneapolis, Minnesota, and do not involve its retail stores, supply chains and overseas branches. Currently, all employees at Target's U.S. headquarters have been notified to switch to working from home next week. Employees whose positions have been affected are expected to be notified on the 28th.

Tagit¡¯s latest financial report released in August this year shows that the company¡¯s sales have declined for three consecutive quarters and that annual sales are expected to decline this year too. At present, Tagit¡¯s share price has dropped about 65 percent from its historic high in 2021 and its share price has dropped about 30 percent since this year. As a retail competitor, Walmart¡¯s share price has risen about 123 percent over the past five years, while Tagit¡¯s share price has dropped 41 percent during the same period. Michael Fidelke, who will take over as CEO of Tagit in February next year, said the cuts were not due to cost cuts, but to reorganize and improve efficiency.

Facebook¡¯s parent company Meta

About 600 people are scheduled to be cut off in the artificial intelligence sector.

According to multiple US media reports on the 22nd, Meta, the parent company of technology giant Facebook, plans to lay off about 600 employees in the artificial intelligence department. This is seen as a move taken by the company to streamline its structure and improve operational efficiency after experiencing a large-scale expansion.

According to reports, the layoffs are mainly aimed at teams focusing on artificial intelligence products and infrastructure, and have not affected employees of the newly established TBD laboratory, which had previously recruited many artificial intelligence from competitors such as OpenAI and Apple at high salaries. Top researchers.

According to the report, the cut-off is a solution to the institutional swelling caused by the company¡¯s earlier mass recruitment for rapidly advancing AI projects. It is that in recent months, Meta has been actively adjusting its AI strategy to strive to keep pace with its competitors, investing billions of dollars in infrastructure projects and talent recruitment. After the cut-off, Meta¡¯s AI department has about 3,000 employees. Affected employees may be placed in other positions within the company.