#news

Designer Brands, owner of Designer Shoe Warehouse, confirmed that the company underwent layoffs last week.

The company did not answer questions regarding the number of employees or departments impacted. Designer Brands also did not comment on questions regarding whether employees were offered severance or other benefits, but did state that the company’s priority “is to support affected associates with the resources they need during this transition.”

https://www.retaildive.com/news/designer-brands-dsw-confirms-layoffs/811413/

The layoffs - which are expected to be permanent - were attributed to "operational changes in CVS Health Aetna's Small Group business segment," according to the letter. Layoffs will occur between early April and late July, according to the letter.

https://www.msn.com/en-us/money/companies/cvs-health-to-lay-off-over-300-remote-employees-who-report-to-aetna-hq-in-hartford/ar-AA1VKElx

• Workday announced layoffs affecting about 2% of its workforce, mostly those in customer-service roles.
• The company said it's realigning resources while continuing to hire in strategic areas and locations.
• The cuts come as AI developments rattle software investors, with Workday shares down about 34% from a year ago.

https://www.businessinsider.com/workday-layoffs-amid-software-stock-sell-off-2026-2

https://www.ctinsider.com/business/article/cvs-health-aetna-layoffs-hartford-21335365.php

• U.S. employers announced 108,435 layoffs for the month, up 118% from the same period a year ago and 205% from December 2025. The total marked the highest for any January since 2009.
• At the same time, companies announced just 5,306 new hires, also the lowest January since 2009, which is when Challenger, Gray & Christmas began tracking such data.
• Also, job openings fell sharply in December to 6.54 million, to their lowest since September 2020. Available jobs are down by more than 900,000 just since October.

https://www.cnbc.com/2026/02/05/layoff-and-hiring-announcements-hit-their-worst-january-levels-since-2009-challenger-says.html

https://www.foxnews.com/media/investigation-nikes-dei-practices-could-have-major-nationwide-impact-hiring-says-alan-dershowitz

People keep mentioning that layoffs are not only happening in Europe, but I haven't heard anything about cuts here so far. Can somebody share what's being hit?

Enjoyed seeing the CEOs of United Healthcare and CVS/Aetna getting scolded by different members of congress last week. How can we make sure Sarah doesn’t miss out on that fun? I need to see her explaining all her little “High Touch Initiatives” put in place in those state plans with high MCR rates. Popcorn ready!

https://www.sdxcentral.com/news/verizon-job-cuts-continue-warns-noncore-operations-could-be-next/

Not surprised! Even with Quality Audits, that area still couldn’t get it together after years and years.
RiF’d the wrong people last year IMO

https://share.google/oUNbVwec3krKUU7Za

https://apnews.com/article/dei-nike-discrimination-diversity-eeoc-80b07bba4ce7eb73e0bcac3e1d46a122

Thoughts?

https://www.nytimes.com/2026/02/04/business/eeoc-nike-white-employee-discrimination.html

Macy's Leads Thousands of Supply Chain Job Cuts
The freight market continues to struggle in early 2026. Over 3,100 job cuts have been announced since mid-January across various sectors. Macy's is closing its Owasso, Oklahoma, fulfillment center, affecting 993 employees. Alton Steel and Continental Tire also announced significant layoffs. Weak consumer demand and excess capacity contribute to these widespread reductions.

https://www.freightwaves.com/?p=570118

Cardone Industries is closing two facilities located in Texas. This action affects 129 employees in Harlingen and Arlington. The closures stem from parent company First Brands Group's financial and legal issues. First Brands Group filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in September.

https://www.expressnews.com/business/article/first-brands-cardone-texas-closure-layoffs-fraud-21329238.php

Eddie Bauer faces expected bankruptcy. Recent layoffs preceded this. The layoffs happened at the company's headquarters. Bankruptcy is now anticipated. These two events are linked.

https://www.bizjournals.com/twincities/news/2026/02/03/eddie-bauer-prepares-chapter-11-filing.html

Fifth Third Bancorp officially acquired Comerica Incorporated. The deal was valued at $10.9 billion. Layoffs are expected following the acquisition.

https://www.woodtv.com/news/michigan/fifth-third-officially-acquires-comerica-in-10-9b-deal/amp/

The freight market continues to struggle in early 2026. Over 3,100 job cuts have been announced since mid-January across various sectors. Macy's is closing its Owasso, Oklahoma, fulfillment center, affecting 993 employees. Alton Steel and Continental Tire also announced significant layoffs. Weak consumer demand and excess capacity contribute to these widespread reductions.

https://www.freightwaves.com/?p=570118

Seeing few unexpected role eliminations posts on LinkedIn , was there any update or a flash call about this recently ?

Is it just another rumor or is it coming? most likely to be shared at earnings call if it is a fact.

The Seattle area recently shed jobs. This marks the first job loss since the pandemic began. The region had previously added fewer than 15,000 jobs in 2024. Further details are behind a paywall. The Puget Sound Business Journal reported this development.

https://www.bizjournals.com/seattle/news/2026/02/03/area-loses-jobs-tech-industry-construction.html

Company planning next steps

1. Reaffirming 2026 financial targets and commitment (i.e Sharebuy back and div etc)
2. Increasing cost cutting labelling it as ahead of and better than planned schedule to spike up investors confidence
3. Major restructuring and flattening structures, ALOT of middle managers will be affected. ALOT of Directors/VPs will be affected as well due to combination of functions and geographies.
4. Print and PC split on discussion.

Company in loads and loads of chaos. No CEO just disappear overnight like that and move out. The damage done by Lores is unthinkable. His playbook is to max payment to Shareholders via stock buy back and div to pump up share price to fattened himself and other C-suite, while stripping away everything possible internally. This failed miserably as shareprice during his tenure and now was lower.

A woman employee fainted after receiving layoff news. She worked at Dhamnagar Tata Power in Bhadrak. Colleagues rushed her to a hospital in critical condition. The victim is identified as Manasi Barik. A workers' association condemned the layoff and demanded re-employment.

https://kalingatv.com/odisha/woman-faints-after-receiving-layoff-news-admitted-to-hospital-in-critical-condition/

ok, has anyone else caught wind of this new initiative, how does this affect us

Austin-based RapidDeploy raised $34 million in new growth capital. Edison Partners led the investment, bringing total funding to $87 million. RapidDeploy develops mapping software for 911 and emergency agencies. The company has secured 10 statewide contracts and serves 1,500 911 centers. Separately, legal tech firm CS Disco Inc. announced layoffs impacting 62 employees.

https://www.bizjournals.com/austin/inno/newsletter/30371778?skip=720

Please share you opinions on Hydra progress. Can Hydra survive in 2026?

https://about.att.com/aboutus/pressrelease/2026/att-lumen-deal-close.html

VERIZON ⁠HAS ‍NOW ​BEGUN TO TAP ‍POTENTIAL REPLACEMENTS ​FOR CURRENT HEAD ‍OF VERIZON'S ​CONSUMER DIVISION SOWMYANARAYAN SAMPATH ​IN RECENT WEEKS- ‍FT Source: https://example.com/4awd7nte

Lumen Completes Sale of Consumer Fiber-to-the-Home Business to AT&T

More info online

Miller's Ale House is closing one of its restaurants. This specific location is in Northeast Philadelphia. The chain will continue to operate in the broader region. Nine other Miller's Ale House locations remain open. One of these remaining restaurants is in South Philadelphia.

https://www.bizjournals.com/philadelphia/news/2026/01/30/millers-ale-house-northeast-philadelphia-closing.html

Please share any information, dates for February. Thanks.

"We are The Washington Post's international correspondents, writing with a collective plea for you to preserve our newspaper's global coverage, which we fear will be greatly weakened in coming cuts," one such appeal read. "Our coverage — thanks to your investment — shapes conversation and global policy at the highest levels each day."

https://www.npr.org/2026/01/30/nx-s1-5692923/washington-post-bezos-layoffs

Not a safe area to be after dark, unless you are carrying:
Police say a man fired shots after an altercation with a security guard outside a Corktown bar early Saturday morning. The incident happened at around 1:17 a.m. in the 2100 block of Trumbull Avenue near Michigan Avenue. The security guard, a licensed CPL holder, returned fire and struck the man.

Does anybody have anything with some kind of a source outside of rumors and wild guessing?

I could barely find any news on it, and I looked, trust me.

https://seekingalpha.com/article/4861789-xerox-running-out-of-ink-strong-sell

For real? I thought it was a joke when I heard about it.