US Layoffs — February 2026, Week 1

In-Depth Analysis

The notification came at 9:47 AM on a Tuesday. Across five Florida locations — Miami, Pembroke Pines, Kissimmee, Sanford, Jacksonville — Bahama Breeze managers gathered their teams to deliver identical scripts about "difficult decisions" and "changing consumer preferences." By lunch, 377 workers who'd served Caribbean-inspired cuisine to families and tourists learned their restaurants would close permanently. The parent company, GMRI Inc. (part of Darden Restaurants $DRI), had already filed the WARN notices. The math was simple: rising labor costs, stubborn inflation eating into discretive dining budgets, and real estate that no longer penciled out in a 5.5% interest rate world.

That scene played out 227 times across America during the first week of February 2026, affecting 18,761 workers who discovered their jobs would vanish within 60 days. While the raw numbers represented a 56% decline from the previous week's brutal surge of 42,263 affected workers, the year-over-year comparison told a different story entirely — a 28% increase in both notices and displaced workers compared to the same week in 2025, signaling that the labor market's January volatility wasn't just a seasonal anomaly.

The Healthcare Paradox

The week's most striking contradiction emerged in healthcare, where an aging population and chronic worker shortages coexisted with the largest single layoff announcement. Crothall and Morrison Healthcare — the facilities management arm of Compass Group — filed notices affecting 795 workers across Pennsylvania locations, including a significant Philadelphia operation. The company, which provides food service, environmental services, and patient transport to hospitals, found itself squeezed between Medicare reimbursement pressures and hospital systems demanding cost reductions.

Healthcare accounted for 19 notices affecting 1,959 workers, making it the second-largest source of layoffs behind the catch-all "not specified" category. CVS Health $CVS followed with 313 layoffs at its Hartford-based Aetna operations, continuing the pharmacy giant's broader restructuring as it grapples with pharmacy benefit management margins and regulatory scrutiny. The company's stock has underperformed the broader market by 15% over the past six months, reflecting investor skepticism about its integrated health model.

Liberty Dental Plan Corporation scattered smaller layoffs across multiple states — 95 in Florida, 22 in California, plus individual positions in Arizona, Georgia, and Virginia — suggesting a coordinated national restructuring rather than local market pressures. These weren't frontline clinical positions but administrative roles that became redundant as the dental benefits administrator automated claims processing and customer service functions.

California's Innovation Recession

California dominated the geographic distribution with 95 notices affecting 5,896 workers, but the composition revealed the state's economic transformation in real time. Del Monte Foods Corporation shuttered its Modesto wholesale operation, eliminating 765 positions as the food giant consolidated distribution networks. The facility, which had operated for decades in California's Central Valley, fell victim to rising transportation costs and the company's pivot toward higher-margin products.

HRL Laboratories — the legendary research arm jointly owned by Boeing $BA and General Motors $GM — scattered layoffs across multiple Malibu locations, affecting 372 workers total across various notices. The defense contractor, which developed technologies ranging from radar systems to advanced materials, reflected both companies' cost-cutting pressure. Boeing's ongoing quality crises and GM's electric vehicle transition costs left little appetite for speculative R&D spending.

Meta Platforms $META filed multiple small layoff notices affecting locations from Menlo Park to various remote positions, totaling 102 workers across different addresses. While modest compared to the company's previous layoff waves, these cuts targeted specific product teams rather than broad efficiency drives, suggesting strategic pivots rather than financial desperation. The social media giant's Reality Labs division continues burning billions on metaverse bets while facing declining user engagement among younger demographics.

Workday Inc. $WDAY eliminated 154 positions in California as the enterprise software company adjusted to a slower growth environment. Software-as-a-service companies that thrived during the digital transformation boom now face scrutinizing customers who demand clear ROI on technology investments.

Industrial Reshoring's Hidden Costs

The manufacturing sector's 11 notices affecting 879 workers told a more complex story than simple offshoring. Aludyne Inc. closed its Columbus, Georgia facility, eliminating 341 positions in automotive parts manufacturing. The company, owned by private equity firm Apollo Global Management $APO, had invested heavily in reshoring production from Mexico but discovered that labor costs alone couldn't overcome decades of supply chain optimization around international operations.

Searles Valley Minerals in Trona, California — one of the world's largest sources of boron compounds used in everything from glass to semiconductors — laid off 270 workers amid volatile commodity pricing and Chinese competition. The remote Mojave Desert operation, which had weathered previous downturns, couldn't absorb the dual impact of rising energy costs and oversupply in global boron markets.

Phillips 66 $PSX scattered layoffs across California locations totaling 204 workers, reflecting the oil refiner's broader adaptation to declining gasoline demand and renewable fuel mandates. The company has invested billions in renewable diesel production, but the transition requires fewer workers than traditional refining operations.

The Telecommunications Consolidation

T-Mobile $TMUS filed overlapping notices affecting 786 workers across Washington state, from Bellevue to remote positions, as the wireless carrier integrated its Sprint acquisition and automated network operations. The layoffs concentrated in customer service and network engineering roles that became redundant after the merger's operational synergies materialized. T-Mobile's stock has outperformed competitors as investors reward the company's market share gains, but that success came with inevitable workforce redundancy.

The telecommunications cuts reflected a broader industry maturation where growth comes from efficiency rather than expansion. 5G deployment costs and spectrum auction debt service leave little room for overlapping workforce structures.

Financial Services' Algorithmic Shift

The finance sector's layoffs revealed an industry increasingly comfortable with algorithmic decision-making replacing human judgment. Wells Fargo $WFC scattered cuts across North Carolina, Illinois, and Iowa totaling 202 positions, continuing the bank's multi-year compliance-driven restructuring. Regulatory settlements and consent orders force the bank to demonstrate operational control, often through technology systems that eliminate human discretion points.

JPMorgan Chase $JPM eliminated 120 New Jersey positions while Valley National Bank $VLY cut 96 workers, both reflecting regional banking's struggle with compressed net interest margins. The Federal Reserve's policy stance keeps funding costs elevated while loan demand remains subdued, squeezing community banking models.

The Restaurant Reckoning

Beyond Bahama Breeze's Florida closures, restaurant industry cuts reflected consumer spending patterns that favor either premium experiences or value plays, with little room for middle-market concepts. GMRI Inc. filed multiple notices across states, suggesting parent company Darden was pruning underperforming locations across its portfolio rather than abandoning entire brands.

The Ritz-Carlton Bal Harbour laid off 108 workers despite luxury travel's general resilience, indicating specific property performance issues rather than category weakness. South Florida's luxury hotel market faces oversupply as new developments compete for the same high-end traveler base.

Forward Indicators

The week's layoff patterns suggested companies making surgical cuts rather than panic-driven mass layoffs, indicating management confidence in overall economic stability while addressing specific operational inefficiencies. The 56% week-over-week decline in affected workers supported this interpretation — January's massive numbers may have represented delayed decisions finally executed rather than accelerating economic distress.

However, the 28% year-over-year increase in layoff activity signals that structural changes in multiple industries are accelerating. Technology adoption, supply chain reshoring, regulatory compliance, and demographic shifts create workforce disruptions even during periods of overall economic growth.

The geographic concentration in California and Pennsylvania suggests that high-cost states face particular pressure as companies optimize for operational efficiency over proximity to expensive talent markets. Remote work capabilities that emerged during the pandemic now enable companies to eliminate positions in expensive markets while maintaining operational capability.

Companies filing multiple overlapping WARN notices for the same layoffs — evident in several major employers — indicates legal caution rather than additional job losses, but creates administrative complexity for displaced workers navigating unemployment benefits and retraining programs.