“Major U.S. companies are shrinking their workforces,” wrote Lauren Weber for the WSJ, analyzing a trend that, according to the author, has solidified in recent years: the belief that fewer employees can translate into faster growth for companies. Weber noted that, according to data from Live Data Technologies, public U.S. companies have reduced their office workforce by 3.5% over the past three years. Additionally, over the last decade, one in five companies in the S&P 500 has downsized.
- “The message from many bosses: anyone still on the payroll could be working harder,” Weber wrote.
- Microsoft, meanwhile, plans to lay off thousands of employees in its sales department and other teams in the coming weeks, aiming to reduce its workforce.
- Weber cited data from the Federal Reserve of St. Louis, showing that U.S. corporate profits hit a record high at the end of last year.
- Now, workers face heavier workloads, more responsibilities, and constant concerns about job security and future prospects.
- The author explained that the reduction of hierarchical layers has left managers in charge of larger teams.
- In two years, that figure more than doubled.
- The Duolingo CEO softened the message after backlash on social media, clarifying that the company was still hiring at the same pace as before.
- The retailer now employs 100,000 fewer people than it did a decade ago, according to its reports.
- In his memo to Amazon employees, Jassy stated that generative artificial intelligence and agents are becoming increasingly capable.
The author stated that these cuts go beyond typical cost adjustments and reflect a deeper philosophical shift. “Adding talent, once a sign of booming sales and confidence in the future, now means leaders must be doing something wrong,” she noted in her column.
Weber explained that the emergence of new technologies, such as generative artificial intelligence, has allowed companies to do more with fewer employees. However, the author emphasized that the phenomenon is not limited to automation. From Amazon in Seattle to Bank of America in Charlotte, North Carolina, and across companies of all sizes, the belief has spread that having too many employees can be an obstacle.
“The message from many bosses: anyone still on the payroll could be working harder,” Weber wrote.
In a memo to employees, Amazon CEO Andy Jassy stated that the “once-in-a-lifetime” rise of artificial intelligence will eliminate the need for certain jobs in the coming years. Jassy also told his staff that not every new project requires 50 people to execute. In his annual letter to shareholders, he argued that “the best leaders achieve more with the fewest resources necessary to get the job done.”
Weber also cited the case of Procter & Gamble, which this month announced the elimination of 7,000 jobs, equivalent to 15% of its non-manufacturing workforce, with the goal of creating “broader roles and smaller teams.” Other companies, such as Estée Lauder and Match Group, recently reported cutting around 20% of their managerial positions.
Microsoft, meanwhile, plans to lay off thousands of employees in its sales department and other teams in the coming weeks, aiming to reduce its workforce.
The author included remarks from Hewlett Packard Enterprise CFO Marie Myers, who told investors, “Flatter is faster,” referring to recent staff reductions. Myers highlighted that, with fewer than 59,000 employees, HPE is at its smallest size since it became independent a decade ago. Weber argued that this downsizing process has reversed the traditional hiring and firing cycle. Companies used to lay off workers during recessions and rehire when the economy improved. However, recent cuts have coincided with rising sales and profits, which, according to the author, signals a more fundamental shift in how leaders evaluate their workforces.
Weber cited data from the Federal Reserve of St. Louis, showing that U.S. corporate profits hit a record high at the end of last year.
The author included the perspective of tech investor and former Adobe executive Jason Lemkin, who said on a venture capital podcast: “Every company with 500 or more employees that I speak with off the record, including public companies, says: ‘I don’t need 30% to 40% of my team.’” Weber added that, according to a The Wall Street Journal analysis of public documents, roughly one in five S&P 500 companies now has fewer employees—both in offices and in the field—than they did a decade ago. Among them are iconic names like Walmart, General Motors, and Bank of America, whose sales have increased during that period.
While some companies have downsized, the overall U.S. workforce has grown over the past decade, driven by expansion in the healthcare sector and an increase in public employees. Weber noted that workforce reductions have eroded the bargaining power employees enjoyed during the pandemic, when jobs were plentiful and companies competed for office talent. Despite advances in artificial intelligence, many business leaders and labor economists have projected long-term shortages in both salaried and hourly jobs.
Now, workers face heavier workloads, more responsibilities, and constant concerns about job security and future prospects.
The author quoted Udemy economist Mischa Fisher, who wrote in an analysis of the latest U.S. jobs report: “Employees are too nervous to make moves. This freeze is blocking the normal flow of opportunities: early-career workers can’t get in, experienced ones can’t advance, and burned-out employees stay put.” Weber noted that managers have been a frequent target of cuts, though Live Data Technologies data shows public companies have also recently reduced non-managerial roles. The number of managers fell by 6.1% between May 2022 and May 2025, while executive-level positions dropped by 4.6%.
Weber reviewed the case of Bank of America. When Brian Moynihan became CEO in 2010, the company had 285,000 employees. The bank closed branches, digitized processes, and did not replace those who resigned. In recent years, it reduced its management layers from 13 to about 7. Currently, it has around 213,000 employees, and its revenue has risen by 18% compared to a decade ago. Moynihan told investors in April: “We have a company that produces more with fewer people and lower costs.”
The author explained that the reduction of hierarchical layers has left managers in charge of larger teams.
In 2020, managers had an average of 4.2 direct reports, according to human resources software company Lattice. By 2023, that number had risen to 5.1. Harvard Business School management professor Joseph Fuller commented: “They’ve cut layers to the point of making companies anorexic.” Fuller warned that this could backfire and harm employee productivity: “Their ability to do deep work and truly focus is steadily declining because they’re constantly distracted and now do the work that three people did ten years ago.”
Midway through the article, Weber highlighted that the “revenue per employee” metric has once again become a closely watched indicator for investors and executives. Among those tracking it is Grindr CEO George Arison. When he took over the dating app in 2022, the company generated about $1 million in revenue per employee.
In two years, that figure more than doubled.
Grindr kept hiring below its own projections, implemented new productivity tools, and demanded more from its existing staff. Arison stated: “I was pretty clear that people weren’t working as hard as they should.”
Weber also quoted Moderna CEO Stéphane Bancel, who said at an investor conference in May: “We’re going to launch 10 products. The challenge I have for our team is: How do we launch those 10 products without increasing headcount?” The author emphasized that generative artificial intelligence now allows executives to envision a future with even fewer workers. CEOs of Shopify and Duolingo told their teams that future hiring will depend on first proving that the work cannot be automated.
The Duolingo CEO softened the message after backlash on social media, clarifying that the company was still hiring at the same pace as before.
Weber recounted that when Lattice wanted to add a payroll function to its human resources software product line, executives estimated they would need 40 to 50 new employees, as customer payment issues typically require immediate attention. Ultimately, Lattice added fewer than 10 people, according to CEO Sarah Franklin, because current AI models are far more sophisticated than chatbots from one or two years ago. Franklin explained: “They can handle custom requests, personalized queries, and match them to give you an answer. That’s what we humans do.”
The author described how many companies are moving toward “agentic” artificial intelligence—autonomous bots capable of making decisions and completing tasks on behalf of humans, such as paying an invoice or rerouting inventory if a natural disaster disrupts a shipping route. Walmart is using these AI agents to shorten the production timeline for its private-label clothing by up to 18 weeks.
The retailer now employs 100,000 fewer people than it did a decade ago, according to its reports.
It sold operations in Brazil, the United Kingdom, and other countries during that period, but Weber clarified that this is only part of the story.
Technical innovations have also helped boost its revenue despite the workforce reduction. Additionally, the company has heavily invested in its rapidly growing e-commerce business, which partly relies on autonomous drivers not counted in headcount data. In 2024, Walmart reported $681 billion in sales, a 40% increase from 2014. “Many of today’s jobs didn’t exist just a few years ago, and we expect the pace of change to continue,” said Donna Morris, Walmart’s chief people officer.
In his memo to Amazon employees, Jassy stated that generative artificial intelligence and agents are becoming increasingly capable.
He said the company has already implemented, or is developing, more than 1,000 agents and predicted that these will accelerate the pace of innovation by handling routine tasks. “Agents will allow us to start almost everything from a more advanced starting point,” Jassy assured.
Weber illustrated that this leaner approach extends even to smaller startups. Jolie, which sells high-end filtered showerheads, expects to reach about $50 million in revenue this year with just five employees. CEO Ryan Babenzien, who previously sold a sneaker brand to Steve Madden, said he never considered headcount a sign of success. Jolie operates with such a small team—which includes co-founder Arjan Singh and employees focused on sales, marketing, and social media—thanks to digital tools and part-time contractors handling finance, operations, and logistics.
Near the end of the article, Weber reiterated for the WSJ that the trend of downsizing and relying on technology to maintain or increase productivity has taken hold across all levels of the U.S. business landscape, from S&P 500 giants to the most agile startups. The author concluded that, in this new paradigm, efficiency and adaptability have become the primary indicators of corporate success.
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