More Layoffs Announced This Week: Verizon, Planned Parenthood, First Citizens, Disney, Meta

KEY POINTS

Around 136,000 Americans have lost their jobs this year as layoffs hit companies
Planned Parenthood will reduce its national workforce almost a year after Roe v. Wade was overturned
Disney and Meta carried out another round of job cuts this week

More companies have announced layoffs, adding to more than a hundred thousand people who lost their jobs this year.

According to Forbes, 136,000 Americans have been axed from their jobs this year so far since uncertainties and the after-effects of the hiring spree during the COVID-19 pandemic continue to plague the economy.

Five companies announced workforce reduction schemes this week to keep their finances afloat and streamline operations.

Verizon

On Wednesday, Verizon announced in a meeting with a wide audience of customer service there would be upcoming "restructuring" and "streamlining" measures that would result in significant layoffs.

Verizon told the affected employees they could get severance packages or apply for roles to "transition to the next stage of your career journey," The Verge reported.

The mobile company reportedly gave affected workers until June 7 to decide on their preference, but those applying for new positions are not guaranteed to be hired.

Layoffs in Verizon came after the company's first-quarter earnings fell short of Wall Street estimates and lost 127,000 postpaid subscribers in the same quarter.

First Citizens

First Citizens BancShares has laid off nearly 500 employees of the Silicon Valley Bank two months after buying the assets of the collapsed bank, according to a report.

Axios reported that the laid-off employees were part of SVB's commercial banking business, while an unnamed source claimed that the layoffs represent less than 3% of First Citizen's total workforce.

In an email to all employees, First Citizens CEO Frank Holding Jr. said the layoffs were part of the company's plan to "remain competitive."

"As a result, we are taking difficult but necessary actions to ensure that our workforce and costs are appropriate for a bank our size. That means that some members of our team will be transitioning out of the business effective today," Holding Jr. said.

Planned Parenthood

Almost a year after the Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade, the nation's best-known abortion provider, Planned Parenthood, has laid out its layoffs plan.

According to The Daily Beast, the organization's staff were informed Tuesday that layoff notices would be sent on June 12, affecting 10 to 20% of the national staff.

Planned Parenthood President Alexis McGill Johnson claimed the massive restructuring aims to "reimagine the role of the national office" in a challenging climate for women's reproductive rights.

"We believe this strategic decision is essential to meet the current moment for Planned Parenthood patients and the future of reproductive health and rights," Johnson said.

However, the layoffs plan was met with pushback from union workers, accusing Planned Parenthood of "pushing out some of our movement's brightest minds."

In the first 100 days after the Supreme Court overturned abortion rights last year, at least 66 Planned Parenthood clinics were forced to shut down.

Disney

The Walt Disney Company is in the midst of its third layoffs, a source familiar with the situation told CNN.

More than 2,500 workers would be affected in what is anticipated to be the last significant round of job cuts in Disney, bringing the total number of job cuts to more than 6,500, approaching the 7,000-figure set by the media giant.

The first two waves of layoffs took place in March and April, eliminating 4,000 jobs, including at ESPN, Disney's entertainment division, Disney Parks and the Experiences and Product division.

In February, Disney CEO Bob Iger said the company's workforce reduction scheme aims to save $5.5 billion in costs.