#layoffs

#layoffs

Lidar company Luminar has filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection after months of layoffs, executive departures, and a legal fight with its largest customer, Volvo. The company aims to sell off its lidar business during the bankruptcy proceeding, and has already reached a deal to sell its semiconductor subsidiary. While the company will continue to operate during the bankruptcy process to "minimize disruptions" for its suppliers and customers, Luminar will eventually cease to exist once it's completed.

I've always said to people that it's been one of my dreams to be made redundant and enjoy some time off, but when it actually happens, it hits you hard. Part of me still thought that maybe I should just try to make an effort to find another role here. But then, toward the end of the consultation process, I had this overwhelming feeling, like Heath, that the change of strategy and direction meant that the exciting work we were doing was now over.

King of Meat developer Glowmade will layoff "around a dozen people" early next year, according to a new report from Insider Gaming. These "voluntary redundancies" come just two months after the multiplayer party game hit Steam and after it reportedly failed to hit an ambitious 100,000 concurrent player target. King of Meat peaked at just 320 people on PC instead.

The guild and other unions are justifiably concerned about a future where either company seizes control of Warner Bros. - especially given the billions in so-called "synergies," a.k.a. mass layoffs, the two companies foresee in a purchase. Perpetually seen as a Hollywood disruptor, Netflix would snap up a more-traditional studio and streaming business while running its own versions of both: Its management projects $2 to 3 billion in synergies by the time the merged company turns three.

"Last week, VSCO said goodbye to 24 employees as a result of a company restructure [sic],"

Jobs website Glassdoor warned of " forever layoffs" in mid-November, as a small drip-drip-drip of cuts throughout the year flew under the radar of most newspaper headlines while instilling fear throughout white-collar ranks. Now, the recruitment firm Challenger, Gray & Christmas has added a crucial bit of insight and one big number: 1.1. million. That's how many layoffs have been announced year-to-date, only the sixth time since 1993 that threshold has been breached.

New economic analysis by Goldman Sachs reveals a bifurcated picture of artificial intelligence's (AI) impact on the workforce, finding that while the technology's role in current layoffs remains modest and unproven across the broader economy, companies focusing on AI in their workforce discussions have sharply curtailed their job openings this year. The findings, drawn from an analysis of Q3 corporate earnings commentary and results by senior economist Ronnie Walker, were drawn from management commentary and results across nearly all the S&P 500.

Zimeno Inc., which operates as Monarch Tractor, has laid off 102 workers at two locations in Livermore, according to official WARN notices sent to the state Employment Development Department. Some of the Zimeno and Monarch Tractor layoffs occurred at the company's headquarters at 151 Lawrence Drive, and some occurred at the company's testing facility at a Wente Vineyards site on Tesla Road, both in Livermore.

Sometimes a layoff isn't a farewell forever. Rehires of people who were laid off could become more popular in a shaky job market. Visier, a people analytics firm, looked at how many people were rehired at their previous employers within 15 months of being terminated. Visier found about 5.3% of laid-off employees were rehired, based on global data from 2018 to 2024 covering 142 large organizations with over 2 million employee records.

Nevada-based Redwood employees around 1,200 employees, so the cuts affect a few dozen workers. The company, founded in 2017 by former Tesla CTO JB Straubel, initially focused on recycling scrap from battery cell production, consumer electronics, and used EV batteries. The company extracts materials like cobalt, nickel, and lithium from those discarded goods and then sells them back to its customers, which includes Panasonic. Redwood has since added cathode production.

Amid wider economic uncertainty, some analysts have said that businesses are at a "no-hire, no fire" standstill. That's caused many to limit new work to only a few specific roles, if not pause openings entirely. At the same time, sizable layoffs have continued to pile up - raising worker anxieties across sectors. Some companies have pointed to rising operational costs spanning from U.S. President Donald Trump's barrage of new tariffs and shifts in consumer spending.

There's an old adage that goes, "No one ever got fired for hiring [insert consulting firm here]." This rang true for many years, as there was no substitute for consulting 'SaaS' ('scapegoat as a service') - but a reckoning is coming. After nearly a decade of uninterrupted growth, the days of multi-million-dollar, multi-year contracts with governmental entities and private companies are swiftly withering away.

"We have a line of sight to drive approximately $1 billion of gross run rate savings over three years across product development, customer service and support, and many of our operational processes," he said. The company's results announcement [PDF] states the aims of the new cost-cutting program are "to drive customer satisfaction, product innovation, and productivity through artificial intelligence adoption and enablement." Or in other words, replacing about ten percent of the company's people with AI, to save $1 billion.

Warren also detailed what she learned as she delved into the Trump administration's efforts to dismantle the department and requested a broader investigation of the dismantling. Her effort included sending eight letters to the Education Department (ED) and a meeting with Education Secretary Linda McMahon. Warren said the department "largely failed to provide complete and transparent answers" in response to her letters.

Note, as we discuss at the very end of this, we're wondering when/if you think we should record next week. We could do it on Wednesday, Friday, or not at all. Let us know! Also, here's that graphic Nicole mentioned, which shows that we're firing cancer researchers and VA nurses and replacing them with ICE goons. Listen on Spotify (transcripts available) Listen on Apple (transcripts available)

In August, reports emerged that Microsoft had paused development on Contraband, a co-op smuggler game from Just Cause developer Avalanche. At the time, some sources noted that Microsoft put a "hold" on production rather than a full cancellation. But now, Contraband's fate appears to be sealed as mass layoffs at Avalanche have resulted in the closure of its Liverpool studio.

Today we've made the difficult but necessary decision to reorganize Crystal Dynamics' studios and teams. As a result, we've parted ways with just under 30 team members across various departments and projects as we restructure the company and business for our next generation. Crystal deeply thanks all of those impacted for their incredible talent, hard work, and dedication, which helped shape the studio in so many ways. We are committed to offering our fullest resources and support to you during this transition.

Seeing peers lose their jobs has a way of making people weird. It's not much different from grief. When someone loses a loved one, you can almost feel the tension: people fumbling for the right words, hoping not to say something insensitive, then saying something insensitive anyway. "Everything happens for a reason." "They're in a better place." That is, assuming any condolences are shared at all.