Nike, Disney, banks, and hospital systems are cutting jobs. Here is a roundup of the major US layoffs from the week of September 28 to October 3, 2026, and what they mean for your job search.
The US jobs picture is contradictory right now. Employers are still adding jobs, but the cuts keep landing on well-paid office roles. Here is what happened this week.
The big picture
ADP's September report showed that private employers added 90,000 jobs, driven by health care, education and hospitality, while financial activities and professional and business services lost jobs. Financial activities was the weakest major sector, with a drop of 16,000. Professional and business services, which covers consulting, back-office work and accounting, lost 11,000.
Layoff notices are piling up too. According to LayoffAlert.org, more than 317,000 workers have been affected by 3,651 WARN notices across 44 reporting states this year. In tech, one tracker counts 519 layoff events in 2026 affecting 225,122 workers as of October 2.
This week's biggest announcements
Nike: a third round of cuts is coming
On Thursday, October 1, Nike reported a mixed fiscal first quarter and announced a restructuring plan that will lead to layoffs starting next year. Nike gave no headcount. CEO Elliott Hill told staff the work will result in fewer roles across the company. It is the third round of layoffs Nike has announced this year. In April, the company said roughly 1,400 people in Global Operations would be laid off, mostly in the technology division.
Disney: another trim under a new CEO
Disney laid off a couple of hundred employees earlier this week, largely in tech and HR. That follows a voluntary early retirement offer and several hundred cuts in July, mostly at Nat Geo and Pixar. Disney Entertainment Television was not affected by this round. Speaking on Thursday, Disney's Dana Walden called the layoffs "extremely painful" and said technology had set its sights on the entertainment business.
Banks and financial services keep shrinking
No single bank announcement dominated the week. The pattern is the story: Wells Fargo, Bank of America and Citigroup have all appeared in WARN databases during 2026. Experts quoted by Newsweek point to two forces. Higher borrowing costs have hurt lending and real estate, and AI is taking over routine tasks. Roles built on repetitive transactions and basic underwriting are under the most pressure.
Big October WARN filings
WARN Act filings show who is cutting next. Among the largest October notices:
- Trinity Health Corp.: 557 workers
- Amentum: 456 workers, effective October 31
- MultiCare Health System: 138 workers, effective October 27
- SDH Services West (Cincinnati/Hamilton, OH): 488 employees, effective October 1
- LAZ Parking (Los Angeles): 247 employees, effective October 6
- Optum Care (Oxnard, CA): 80 employees, effective October 3
Local mass layoffs
In Florida, pharmaceutical services company AssistRX told officials it will begin a mass layoff on November 30 at its Orlando center, affecting around 86 employees. The layoff could later grow to include 137 more people between January and May 2027.
Tech: the long tail of 2026
No single tech giant dominated this week's headlines, but the year's totals are heavy. Oracle has had the largest impact so far and has said that AI adoption has resulted, and may continue to result, in workforce reductions. Microsoft cut 4,800 positions this year, saying the eliminated roles are not being replaced by AI, though AI is changing how work gets done. Tech cuts are also running ahead of last year's pace: over 245,000 tech workers were let go in all of 2025, against more than 185,000 so far in 2026 by one count.
What this means for job seekers
- Health care and services are hiring. Education and health services added 55,000 jobs in September, and leisure and hospitality added 22,000.
- Entry-level office roles are the hardest hit. Finance, consulting and back-office support are shrinking fastest.
- Skills that pair domain expertise with technology are in demand. Analysts who can work with AI tools are safer than people in repetitive transaction work.
- Watch WARN notices. Employers must give advance notice of mass layoffs, so these filings show hiring slowdowns early.
If you've been laid off
- File for unemployment benefits right away, since waiting can cost you weeks of payments.
- Read your severance agreement carefully before signing, and ask about benefits continuation.
- Update your resume and LinkedIn while details are fresh, and tell your network early.
- Look at the growing sectors above, and at adjacent roles where your skills transfer.
The labor market is not collapsing, but it is shifting. Jobs are growing in care and service work while cuts concentrate in finance, tech, and corporate functions. Keep your skills current and your network warm.