Management Consulting Services NAICS 541611

Jul 28, 2025 - Big Companies Learning to Love Layoffs

• Major corporations are getting smaller and managers have learned to not shy away from layoffs and other staff reductions, and in some cases actually tout them as positives, as AI adoption slims down corporate staff. Big companies have looked to startups and their ability to earn millions in revenue as inspiration for treating large staffs as an impediment rather than a benefit. Companies including Wells Fargo, Amazon, Union Pacific, Verizon, and Bank of America have cut thousands of jobs this year and report improved profitability. In addition to layoffs and displacement from AI, other means used to cut staff have included hiring freezes, combining jobs into new roles, or even leaving positions unfilled after employees resign. Management roles have taken the biggest hit in this new dynamic with middle managers increasingly being let go in favor of flatter organizations.
• US workers are increasingly putting in extra hours in the evening after their workday has ended as companies cut costs, slow new hiring, and ask existing employees to do more. According to data from Microsoft on the millions of workers who use its business applications, over the course of the last year meeting log-ins after 8 p.m. grew 16% and a third of workers returned to their inboxes after 10 p.m. Workers cite days filled with so many meetings, emails, and actual work that they don’t have enough time in the day to get everything done. Microsoft’s data showed the average worker gets 117 emails and 153 chats a day, and 30% of meetings cross time zones, all contributing to playing catch up after hours. The workloads have taken a toll with employee mentions of burnout on job site Glassdoor up 32% year over year in Q1, the highest level in 10 years.

• Publicly-traded US companies have shed 3.5% of their white-collar employees from 2022 to 2025, per employment data provider Live Data Technologies, as corporate America shifts to leaner workforces that work harder. The cycle of layoffs in down markets and hiring surges in profitable times is changing as sales and profits have boomed in recent years despite widespread staffing cuts. Companies are also becoming more efficient thanks to AI tools and other technology advancements. Management ranks in particular have been thinned out. In the last three years, public companies have cut managers by 6.1% and executives by 4.6%, leaving organizations more flat and asking existing employees to work harder. The trend reflects a reversal of the post-pandemic leverage rank-and-file employees enjoyed during the resulting white-collar boom. However, companies risk inviting employee morale issues and reduced productivity due to higher workloads and less staff.
• Revenue for management, scientific and technical consulting services rose 7% in 2024 over the previous year to $424.7 billion, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, amidst growing demand for AI and related data technology services. Companies are seeking out expensive consulting help to expand the use of what are fast becoming standard tools such as cloud computing, cybersecurity, and AI-based data analytics and automation. Less demands by the US government on private corporations to combat climate change has many firms taking sustainability initiatives into their own hands and increasing demand for management consultants to offer more services in the areas of climate strategy, supply chain transformation, and navigating the ever changing world of regulatory compliance throughout the world. Consulting firms are also expanding into managed IT services as a means to achieve lines of stable, recurring revenue.