A 3rd of firm bosses are planning to put off employees over vacation season, survey suggests | EUROtoday

One in three enterprise leaders say they plan to hold out layoffs throughout the vacation season, regardless of the brutal timing being avoidable, a brand new survey has discovered.

The November 2025 survey, carried out by Resume.org, polled 1,008 U.S. enterprise leaders. Those who responded have been permitted to offer a number of solutions in the event that they have been unsure, leading to a complete response fee of 148 %.

Over half (57 %) of those that anticipated to make cuts stated they’d probably come between Thanksgiving and Christmas, whereas 43 % anticipate the week between Christmas and the New Year, and 32 % stated earlier than Thanksgiving.

An extra 16 % stated that that they had not finalized when their layoffs would happen, however that it could be earlier than 2026.

In addition, over a 3rd (34 %) of respondents acknowledged that the layoffs “definitely” might have been delayed and 40 % saying they “probably” might have.

A variety of causes for the cuts to staffing have been cited, with the primary one being cost-cutting earlier than the brand new monetary quarter – 74 % gave this as a cause. Others stated it helps keep away from paying bonuses (42 %) or PTO (35 %).

General underlying drivers for the cuts have been the financial system and firm efficiency, adopted by an increase in AI or automation on the firm.

Kara Dennison, Resume.org’s head of profession advising, says that the timing, whereas particularly poor within the present robust financial instances, usually are not notably shocking. The finish of the yr is a time for corporations to finalize budgets, reassess worker headcount, and tie up different free ends earlier than January.

“Laying off employees at the end of the year can make transitions operationally easier for some teams,” Dennison stated.

“For the person losing their job, however, the timing is brutal. The holidays magnify stress, and lost income combined with the social expectations of the season, can make the experience feel lonelier.”

Dennison provides that vacation cuts might be doubly destabilizing for these employees laid off as a result of hiring throughout the identical interval additionally slows down. Offering wholesome or prolonged severance packages will help with the impression.

Despite this, in line with Resume.org’s survey, solely 58 % of corporations stated that each one laid-off workers would obtain severance, whereas 35 % say just some would and 6 % saying that none will.

Among the businesses providing severance, 34 % stated they supply two weeks’ value of pay and 30 % stated they supplied three to 4 weeks.

At the identical time, the overwhelming majority of corporations stated they’d nonetheless be rewarding higher-ups, with 82 % of executives on account of obtain bonuses. Over half – 57 % – say their firm remains to be internet hosting a vacation celebration.

The survey’s findings come as functions for unemployment advantages within the U.S., typically considered as a proxy for layoffs and near a real-time indicator of the well being of the job market, fell to their lowest stage in additional than three years final week.

The variety of Americans making use of for jobless advantages for the week ending November 29 fell to 191,000 from the earlier week’s 218,000, the Labor Department reported Thursday – the bottom stage since September 24, 2022, when claims got here in at 189,000.

Still, wider issues over the financial system stay after a yr of economic turbulence since Donald Trump’s return to workplace in January.

The president’s international commerce wars have triggered the inventory market to fluctuate wildly and his administration’s mission to deport tens of millions of undocumented immigrants has additionally squeezed the labor market. More considerably for on a regular basis Americans, Trump’s tariff insurance policies have raised family prices by an estimated $1,100 in 2025 – including an additional layer of hysteria for these quickly to be jobless.