What began as a banner day for stocks turned into a major rout, as investors signaled ongoing skepticism about the longevity of the artificial intelligence boom and trimmed hopes of support from the Federal Reserve.

The tech-heavy Nasdaq fell 2%, and the broad S&P 500 index dropped by more than 1.5%. The Dow Jones Industrial Average, which tracks 30 top-tier stocks, declined by nearly 390 points. It had been up 700 points earlier in the day. Cryptocurrencies also shed billions in value: Bitcoin had fallen below $87,000 as of late Thursday afternoon, weeks after having set highs above $120,000.

The stunning turnaround added further unease to an already shaky economy that has forced households to trim budgets amid stubborn inflation and signs of a wavering job market. With an ever-increasing part of the economy’s principal driver — consumer spending — now reliant on affluent households, an extended market pullback could inflict wider damage.

‘You don’t have to have the biggest bubble in history for an expensive stock market’ and end up seeing declines, said Matt Maley, chief market strategist at Miller Tabak asset management group.

Traders’ hopes were boosted early Thursday by a better-than-expected jobs report that appeared to show the economy remained resilient. Even before the day began, stocks looked poised to rise after Nvidia, the chipmaker at the heart of the AI boom, reported strong quarterly earnings and revenue.

Yet by midday, markets had turned red. The solid September jobs report diminished the odds that the Federal Reserve will cut interest rates next month to lower the cost of borrowing money to spur economic activity. When investors don’t have to pay as much in interest, they often put those savings into stocks.

“The broad rebound in payrolls suggests diminished risks of a higher unemployment rate,” analysts with Morgan Stanley said in a note published shortly before noon. “We no longer expect a Fed cut in December.”

Losses were further compounded by ongoing concerns about AI — specifically, how much more profitable the companies buying chips like Nvidia’s will be. The fears were articulated Wednesday evening on X by Michael Burry, made famous by the movie ‘The Big Short.’

‘Just because something is used does not mean it is profitable,’ he wrote.

Finally, the ongoing sell-off of bitcoin indicated to some traders that a key source of support for stocks — retail or day traders — were beginning to waver on their trademark ‘buy the dip’ mentality.

‘I wouldn’t say we’ve flipped from bull to bear,’ said Steve Sosnick, chief strategist at Interactive Brokers financial group. ‘I would say we’ve flipped from bull to balanced market in the short term. A lot depends on whether sentiment continues to weaken.’

Stocks had already been showing signs of flagging in recent weeks. With Thursday’s losses, the S&P 500 fell to its lowest point since September.

The long-delayed September jobs report, which showed that the United States added a sturdy 119,000 jobs, appeared to show some glimmers of hope for the economy.

Although the unemployment rate ticked up from 4.3% in August to 4.4%, about 450,000 workers entered the labor force. Economists view that as evidence that job opportunities are still plentiful, despite a wave of corporate layoffs.

Just before the Bureau of Labor Statistics released the jobs report, Verizon told employees it planned to lay off 13,000 employees, or about 13% of its workforce.

The company joined a suite of other blue-chip employers that say they plan to eliminate tens of thousands of jobs, including Amazon, General Motors, IBM, Microsoft, Paramount, Target and UPS.

The details of the jobs report, which captured conditions before the government shutdown, as well more recent jobs data, suggested a more mixed picture for the U.S. economy.

Manufacturing shed 6,000 jobs, continuing a trend in a sector the Trump administration has touted as a key target of its economic policies. Transportation and warehousing also lost 25,300 jobs. Wage growth slowed, and job totals for July and August were revised downward.

The employment gains in September were concentrated in the health care, hospitality and social assistance sectors.

Another snapshot of the economy came courtesy of Walmart, which on Thursday reported strong sales and raised its outlook for the year. That strength points to cracks in the economy, though. Executives said the chain is luring more high-income shoppers who are looking for bargains, and noted that lower-income families are feeling more pressure.

‘As pocketbooks have been stretched, you’re seeing more consumer dollars go to necessities versus discretionary items,’ Chief Financial Officer John David Rainey said on an earnings call Thursday morning.

Walmart’s stock closed 6.5% higher.

Bitcoin and ether slumped to multi-month lows on Friday, with cryptocurrencies swept up in a broader flight from riskier assets as investors worried about lofty tech valuations and bets on near-term U.S. interest rate cuts faded.

Bitcoin, the world’s largest cryptocurrency, fell 5.5% to a seven-month low of $81,668. Ether slid more than 6% to $2,661.37, its lowest in four months.

Both tokens are down roughly 12% so far this week.

Cryptocurrencies are often viewed as a barometer of risk appetite and their slide highlights how fragile the mood in markets has turned in recent days, with high-flying artificial intelligence stocks tumbling and volatility spiking VIX.

“If it’s telling a story about risk sentiment as a whole, then things could start to get really, really ugly, and that’s the concern now,” Tony Sycamore, a market analyst at IG, said of the fall in bitcoin.

About $1.2 trillion has been wiped off the market value of all cryptocurrencies in the past six weeks, according to market tracker CoinGecko.

Bitcoin’s slide follows a stellar run this year that propelled it to a record high above $120,000 in October, buoyed by favourable regulatory changes towards crypto assets globally.

But analysts say the market remains scarred by a record single-day slump last month that saw more than $19 billion of positions liquidated.

“The market feels a little bit dislocated, a bit fractured, a bit broken, really, since we had that selloff,” said Sycamore.

Bitcoin has since erased all its year-to-date gains and is now down 12% for the year, while ether has lost close to 19%.

Citi analyst Alex Saunders said $80,000 would be an important level as it is around the average level of bitcoin holdings in ETFs.

The selloff has also hurt share prices of crypto stockpilers, following a boom in public digital asset treasury companies this year as corporates took advantage of rising prices to buy and hold cryptocurrencies on their balance sheets.

Shares of Strategy, once the poster child for corporate bitcoin accumulation, have fallen 11% this week and were down nearly 4% in premarket trade, languishing at one-year lows.

JP Morgan said in a note this week that the company could be excluded from some MSCI equity indexes, which could spark forced selling by funds that track them.

Its Japanese peer Metaplanet has tumbled about 80% from a June peak.

Crypto exchange Coinbase was down 1.9% in premarket trade and is on course for its longest losing streak in more than a month.

Crypto miners MARA Holdings and CleanSpark were down 2.4% and 3.6%, respectively, while the Winklevoss twins’ newly-listed Gemini has plunged 62% from its listing price.

“Bitcoin market conditions are the most bearish they have been since the current bull cycle started in January 2023,” said digital asset research firm CryptoQuant in its weekly crypto report on Wednesday.

“We are highly likely to have seen most of this cycle’s demand wave pass.”

Shoppers are still flocking to Walmart.

The company raised its full-year earnings and sales outlook Thursday, heading into the crucial holiday shopping season.

Walmart also offered fresh signs that it is shedding its original identity as a strictly down-market brick-and-mortar operation by growing its e-commerce business and increasing its market share of higher-income shoppers.

Walmart’s shares closed more than 6% higher Thursday, even as the broader market suffered a dramatic sell-off. The stock is up more than 18% this year.

The biggest retailer and grocer in the United States acknowledged the added financial pressures on lower-income households but said middle-income families are holding up. Walmart saw more sales growth in its grocery and health and wellness product categories than in general merchandise.

‘As pocketbooks have been stretched, you’re seeing more consumer dollars go to necessities versus discretionary items,’ Chief Financial Officer John David Rainey said on a call with analysts Thursday morning.

The company reported that same-store sales for Walmart U.S. rose 4.5% in the quarter that ended Oct. 31, exceeding analysts’ expectations.

“The team delivered another strong quarter across the business. eCommerce was a bright spot again this quarter. We’re gaining market share, improving delivery speed, and managing inventory well,” outgoing CEO Doug McMillon said in a statement.

Walmart reported 27% growth in e-commerce sales globally.

Walmart also announced that it will move from trading on the New York Stock Exchange to the tech-heavy Nasdaq next month. It’s the latest sign of America’s largest private employer working to position itself as tech-forward in order to compete with Amazon.

The discounter’s third-quarter earnings come amid growing questions about whether Americans contending with tariffs, corporate layoffs and accelerating inflation are still confidently spending on retail.

As a bellwether for the U.S. economy and consumer confidence, Walmart’s strong earnings and guidance indicate that consumers are still shopping — at least at the lower end of the retail price point.

The company announced last week that McMillon will step down in January. McMillon, 59, started at Walmart as an associate in the 1980s and has helmed the company since 2014.

Under his leadership, Walmart improved pay and benefits for many employees, renovated hundreds of stores and boosted its e-commerce and delivery programs, especially during the Covid pandemic.

John Furner, CEO of Walmart U.S., will take over the top job Feb. 1. Since 2019, Furner has led Walmart’s American operations — by far the largest slice of the company, with around 1.6 million of Walmart’s approximately 2.1 million total associates worldwide.

Walmart is leading the retail race against longtime rival Target, which Wednesday reported a drop in third-quarter sales and cut its full-year profit guidance.

Target’s sales have faltered over the last few years, with some consumers expressing frustration over what they said were disorganized stores and rollbacks of the company’s diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives.

In October, Target said it would cut about 1,800 corporate jobs.

Target is hoping for a fresh start in the new year. Incoming CEO Michael Fiddelke will take over Feb. 1, the same day Furner becomes CEO of Walmart.

The struggling retailer said Wednesday that it plans to increase its investment in stores and technology next year by 25%.

Since January, U.S. businesses have had to contend with ever-changing tariffs under the Trump administration. Walmart has navigated the uncertainty by raising prices on some items, while swallowing some tariff costs on others. In the three months that ended Oct. 31, prices at Walmart U.S. rose around 1% overall, with higher prices on electronics, toys and seasonal items in particular due to tariff pressures.

In the grocery section, Walmart expects egg prices to drop but anticipates the record-breaking beef prices will stay high, in part from cattle herds shrinking over the last few decades.

Prices for other grocery staples are also up, though the Trump administration’s rollback of tariffs on many food items last week could offer some relief.

Despite the rising prices, Walmart is offering its annual Thanksgiving menu deal for 10 at less than $4 per person. It’s less expensive than last year’s package, but it also contains fewer items.

The company is also expanding its use of artificial intelligence, teaming up with OpenAI to allow customers to buy from Walmart within ChatGPT. Walmart has not detailed the terms of the partnership or shared when the new option could be available.

This week, Target announced its own collaboration with OpenAI.

Walmart has lagged behind rival Amazon in AI-driven e-commerce — Amazon debuted its Rufus shopping assistant in February 2024, more than a year before Walmart launched its counterpart, Sparky.

The United States added 119,000 jobs in September, a stronger-than-expected figure and a sign that the economy was adding jobs at a healthy clip before government shutdown.

But the details of the report from the Bureau of Labor Statistics paint a more mixed picture, that of a labor market that has recently begun to look wobblier amid high-profile layoff announcements from a host of blue-chip companies.

September’s employment gains were concentrated in health care, food and drinking establishments, and social assistance. Manufacturing shed 6,000 jobs, continuing a trend in a sector the Trump administration has touted as a key target of its economic policies. Transportation and warehousing also lost 25,300 jobs.

The unemployment rate climbed from 4.3% to 4.4% in September, though the pickup was due in part to an increase in the labor force, which the BLS said gained 450,000 new potential workers.

The pace of wage growth slowed.

Thursday’s report was originally supposed to be released Oct. 3, but it was shelved because of the government shutdown. Jobs data collected for October will be released Dec. 16 as part of the full report covering November, the BLS said Wednesday.

The absence of official economic reports over the past six weeks has made it difficult to accurately assess the current state of the jobs market.

But data from private and alternative sources has painted a worrisome portrait amid signs of softening consumption among many households and stubborn price increases.

Over the past few weeks, Amazon, General Motors, IBM, Microsoft, Paramount, Target and UPS have announced plans to eliminate tens of thousands of jobs. Their ranks were joined Thursday by Verizon, which announced the start of layoffs affecting 13,000, according to an internal memo.

About 39,000 workers received layoff notices in October, according to data tracked by the Cleveland Federal Reserve — a number last seen in May and before that only during times of crisis.

A separate report released this month by the research firm Challenger, Gray & Christmas counted 153,000 job cuts announced in October, though some analysts give less weight to its data over methodology questions.

Whatever the exact total, those who do find themselves without work are now experiencing an average unemployment spell of 24.5 weeks — nearly six months. That’s the worst reading since November 2017.

Tiffany Price, South Florida general manager for Job News USA, a job listings service, said many companies face budget cuts and have effectively frozen hiring. And what companies are still hiring are offering lower compensation rates that more experienced workers may have trouble accepting.

The number of employers who attended a recent Job News jobs fair at Amerant Bank Arena in Broward County, Florida, was nearly half the figure of a year ago, while attendance among workers held steady at about 2,000 potential applicants, Price said.

Still, many organizations report difficulties finding qualified workers, she said. On both the employer and the employee sides, a “post and pray” job application strategy has taken hold that leads to worse outcomes for both, she said. More successful outcomes on both fronts have come from local relationships and face-to-face outreach.

A bright spot has been local government, Price said — something that is reflected in the national data, which shows employment in local government roles has continuously expanded since the Covid-19 pandemic recovery set in.

“It’s a weird market,” she said.

Questions about the health of the labor market now dominate discussions about whether the Federal Reserve should continue to cut interest rates. On Monday, Fed Governor Christopher Waller said a December cut was needed to stem further job-market deterioration.

“My focus is on the labor market, and after months of weakening, it is unlikely that the September jobs report later this week or any other data in the next few weeks would change my view that another cut is in order,” he said.

In his speech last month announcing a 0.25% rate cut, Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell was more circumspect, saying it appeared that the jobs market was weakening only gradually and signaling he was not ready to guarantee a December rate cut was inevitable.

The Fed’s divisions were laid bare in meeting notes released Wednesday from the October rate-setting meeting that showed a sharp split among policymakers about the risk that lower rates would spur already-elevated inflation by making it easier for consumers and businesses to borrow money.

“Most participants noted that, against a backdrop of elevated inflation readings and a very gradual cooling of labor market conditions, further” interest-rate cuts “could add to the risk of higher inflation becoming entrenched,” the notes said.

So far, many economic analysts have been reluctant to call it a full-blown jobs crisis, pointing to data from state-level claims for unemployment that remain subdued and recent reports from the payrolls processor ADP showing a slight rebound in new hires.

“Fears of a renewed labour market downturn, amid reports of mass layoffs at several large firms, are not reflected in still-muted jobless claims or the pick-up in hiring in the ADP private payrolls report,” Thomas Ryan, North America economist for Capital Economics research group, wrote in a note published last week.

Walmart announced Friday that longtime CEO Doug McMillon will retire at the end of January — which came as a surprise to some given the company’s success in a rapidly evolving retail landscape.

John Furner, Walmart’s U.S. CEO, will assume the role of overall CEO on Feb. 1, the company said. McMillon will continue to serve in an executive and advisory role through January 2027. Furner, 51, began his career at Walmart as an hourly associate.

McMillon, 59, has held the top job since 2014 and is only the fifth person to lead the storied company in its 63-year history.

McMillon has overseen a radical transformation of Walmart’s image in a little over a decade.

In 2014, Walmart had a reputation as a budget retail option and was accused of underpaying its associates. Today, it draws more well-to-do shoppers and has earned credit for adopting innovative personnel policies.

McMillon also built up Walmart’s e-commerce operation into the country’s second-largest, behind only Amazon. Over the course of McMillon’s tenure, the value of Walmart’s shares has increased some 300%.

“Serving as Walmart’s CEO has been a great honor and I’m thankful to our Board and the Walton family for the opportunity,” McMillon said in a statement. “I’ve worked with John for more than 20 years. … He’s uniquely capable of leading the company through this next AI-driven transformation.”

America’s retail landscape continues to rapidly evolve, as consumer spending habits increasingly bifurcate between wealthier households and everyone else.

However, Walmart’s quarterly results have held steady — and the company has been justly rewarded by investors. Just this year, Walmart shares have climbed around 13%. Over the course of McMillon’s tenure, the retailer’s stock price is up some 300%.

On Walmart’s most recent earnings call in August, McMillon indicated the company has been able to withstand the broader pressures facing consumers. Its shoppers’ “behavior has been generally consistent,” he said. “We aren’t seeing dramatic shifts.”

Other retailers have not been so fortunate.

Target’s shares have lost about one-third of their value this year, as the chain works to regain its footing in a more value-conscious environment. In August, longtime CEO Brian Cornell announced plans to step down.

Amazon, meanwhile, has fared slightly better as consumers continue to prioritize the convenience of online shopping. But it recently announced thousands of layoffs affecting corporate employees. Amazon’s share price has climbed about 8% this year.

McMillon has also steered Walmart through a volatile period in U.S. politics, during which elected officials have engaged directly with companies and consumers have proven willing to boycott corporate giants over social issues.

Walmart found itself in President Donald Trump’s crosshairs in May, after it signaled plans to increase some prices in response to his tariffs.

“Walmart should STOP trying to blame Tariffs as the reason for raising prices throughout the chain,” Trump wrote on his Truth Social platform. “Between Walmart and China they should, as is said, ‘EAT THE TARIFFS,’ and not charge valued customers ANYTHING. I’ll be watching, and so will your customers!!!”

While subsequent reports indicated that Walmart had indeed increased prices on some items, McMillon said in August that the changes were gradual enough that consumer habits shifted only modestly.

Six months after Trump singled Walmart out over tariffs, he did so again — but for a very different reason.

In recent weeks, the Trump White House has repeatedly touted Walmart’s 2025 Thanksgiving menu package — which costs less overall than the retailer’s similar menu did last year — as a sign that the president’s economic policies have helped drive down grocery prices for consumers.

But there is a flaw in that rationale. This year’s Walmart Thanksgiving menu contains fewer items than last year’s menu did.

More than 1,000 unionized Starbucks workers went on strike at 65 U.S. stores Thursday to protest a lack of progress in labor negotiations with the company.

The strike was intended to disrupt Starbucks’ Red Cup Day, which is typically one of the company’s busiest days of the year. Since 2018, Starbucks has given out free, reusable cups on that day to customers who buy a holiday drink. Starbucks Workers United, the union organizing baristas, said Thursday morning that the strike had already closed some stores and was expected to force more to close later in the day.

Starbucks Workers United said stores in 45 cities would be impacted, including New York, Philadelphia, Minneapolis, San Diego, St. Louis, Dallas, Columbus, Ohio, and Starbucks’ home city of Seattle. There is no date set for the strike to end, and more stores are prepared to join if Starbucks doesn’t reach a contract agreement with the union, organizers said.

Starbucks emphasized that the vast majority of its U.S. stores would be open and operating as usual Thursday. The coffee giant has 10,000 company-owned stores in the U.S., as well as 7,000 licensed locations in places like grocery stores and airports.

As of noon Thursday on the East Coast, Starbucks said it was on track to meet or exceed its sales expectations for the day at its company-owned stores.

“The day is off to an incredible start,” the company said in a statement.

Around 550 company-owned U.S. Starbucks stores are unionized. More have voted to unionize, but Starbucks closed 59 unionized stores in September as part of a larger reorganization campaign.

Here’s what’s behind the strike.

Striking workers say they’re protesting because Starbucks has yet to reach a contract agreement with the union. Starbucks workers first voted to unionize at a store in Buffalo in 2021. In December 2023, Starbucks vowed to finalize an agreement by the end of 2024. But in August of last year, the company ousted Laxman Narasimhan, the CEO who made that promise. The union said progress has stalled under Brian Niccol, the company’s current chairman and CEO. The two sides haven’t been at the bargaining table since April.

Workers say they’re seeking better hours and improved staffing in stores, where they say long customer wait times are routine. They also want higher pay, pointing out that executives like Niccol are making millions and the company spent $81 million in June on a conference in Las Vegas for 14,000 store managers and regional leaders.

Dochi Spoltore, a barista from Pittsburgh, said in a union conference call Thursday that it’s hard for workers to be assigned more than 19 hours per week, which leaves them short of the 20 hours they would need to be eligible for Starbucks’ benefits. Spoltore said she makes $16 per hour.

“I want Starbucks to succeed. My livelihood depends on it,” Spoltore said. “We’re proud of our work, but we’re tired of being treated like we’re disposable.”

The union also wants the company to resolve hundreds of unfair labor practice charges filed by workers, who say the company has fired baristas in retaliation for unionizing and has failed to bargain over changes in policy that workers must enforce, like its decision earlier this year to limit restroom use to paying customers.

Starbucks says it offers the best wage and benefit package in retail, worth an average of $30 per hour. Among the company’s benefits are up to 18 weeks of paid family leave and 100% tuition coverage for a four-year college degree. In a letter to employees last week, Starbucks’ Chief Partner Officer Sara Kelly said the union walked away from the bargaining table in the spring.

Kelly said some of the union’s proposals would significantly alter Starbucks’ operations, such as giving workers the ability to shut down mobile ordering if a store has more than five orders in the queue.

Kelly said Starbucks remained ready to talk and “believes we can move quickly to a reasonable deal.” Kelly also said surveys showed that most employees like working for the company, and its barista turnover rates are half the industry average.

Unionized workers have gone on strike at Starbucks before. In 2022 and 2023, workers walked off the job on Red Cup Day. Last year, a five-day strike ahead of Christmas closed 59 U.S. stores. Each time, Starbucks said the disruption to its operations was minimal. Starbucks Workers United said the new strike is open-ended and could spread to many more unionized locations.

The number of non-union Starbucks locations dwarfs the number of unionized ones. But Todd Vachon, a union expert at the Rutgers School of Management and Labor Relations, said any strike could be highly visible and educate the public on baristas’ concerns.

Unlike manufacturers, Vachon said, retail industries depend on the connection between their employees and their customers. That makes shaming a potentially powerful weapon in the union’s arsenal, he said.

Starbucks’ same-store sales, or sales at locations open at least a year, rose 1% in the July-September period. It was the first time in nearly two years that the company had posted an increase. In his first year at the company, Niccol set new hospitality standards, redesigned stores to be cozier and more welcoming, and adjusted staffing levels to better handle peak hours.

Starbucks also is trying to prioritize in-store orders over mobile ones. Last week, the company’s holiday drink rollout in the U.S. was so successful that it almost immediately sold out of its glass Bearista cup. Starbucks said demand for the cup exceeded its expectations, but it wouldn’t say if the Bearista will return before the holidays are ove

U.S.-based companies announced more than 153,000 job cuts in October, the research firm Challenger, Gray & Christmas reported Thursday.

“This is the highest total for October in over 20 years, and the highest total for a single month in the fourth quarter since 2008,’ the firm said in a news release.

From January through the end of October, employers have announced the elimination of nearly 1.1 million jobs. It’s the most Challenger has recorded since 2020, when the Covid-19 pandemic shut down the global economy.

“October’s pace of job cutting was much higher than average for the month,’ Andy Challenger, the firm’s chief revenue officer, said in a statement. The last time there was a higher October monthly total was in 2003.

“Some industries are correcting after the hiring boom of the pandemic, but this comes as AI adoption, softening consumer and corporate spending, and rising costs drive belt-tightening and hiring freezes,” he said.

On Wednesday, the private payroll processor ADP released its own October jobs data, showing that employers added just 42,000 jobs in the month.

The ADP report also flagged job losses in the leisure and hospitality sector as a potential sign of trouble ahead, given the industry’s acute sensitivity to consumer sentiment.

ADP’s chief economist called the losses in hospitality and leisure a ‘concerning trend.’

Both Challenger and ADP’s reports landed as major companies such as Amazon, IBM, UPS, Target, Microsoft, Paramount and General Motors announced plans to eliminate tens of thousands of jobs.

Despite the wave of downbeat economic news, the Trump administration continues to deliver an upbeat take on the current environment.

“Jobs are booming” and “inflation is falling,” Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said Tuesday.

However, the most recent available data paints a different picture.

Inflation has also been on the rise. Prices as measured by the Consumer Price Index overall have risen every month since April.

A spokesperson for the Treasury Department did not immediately reply to a request for comment on the Challenger report.

Challenger’s report does not typically carry the same weight with economists and investors as federal jobs data, owing to its methodology.

To arrive at its figures, the firm compiles the number of job cuts companies have publicly announced. But employers may not ultimately carry out all the cuts they roll out.

Moreover, some of the job cuts that multinational companies announce could affect workers outside of the United States. Other headcount reductions could be achieved through attrition, rather than layoffs. The report also may not capture smaller layoffs over the long run.

But in the midst of a federal data blackout caused by the government shutdown, Challenger’s latest report is being read more closely than usual.

The federal government’s October jobs report that would traditionally be released Friday will not be published this week, due to the shutdown.

Other key data about the U.S. economy like GDP and an inflation indicator called PCE, closely watched by the Federal Reserve, has also been delayed.

Challenger equated the impact of AI on the current labor market to the rise of the internet in the early aughts. “Like in 2003, a disruptive technology is changing the landscape,” it said.

‘Technology continues to lead in private-sector job cuts as companies restructure amid AI integration, slower demand, and efficiency pressures,’ Challenger said.

But even firms that are not actively cutting jobs have warned that they do not plan to add to their headcount in the near term, with several pointing directly to AI’s impact on their personnel needs.

On Wednesday night, JPMorgan Chase CEO Jamie Dimon told CNN that headcount at his company would likely remain steady as the nation’s largest bank rolls out AI internally.

Goldman Sachs CEO David Solomon also recently told his employees that the firm would ‘constrain headcount growth through the end of the year,’ as it takes advantage of AI efficiencies, Bloomberg reported.

Yum Brands said on Tuesday it was exploring strategic options for its Pizza Hut chain as the unit struggles to keep pace in a highly competitive fast-food industry vying for sales from a stressed consumer.

“Pizza Hut‘s performance indicates the need to take additional action to help the brand realize its full value, which may be better executed outside of Yum Brands,” Yum Brands’ new CEO, Chris Turner, said in a statement.

Pizza Hut‘s sales have lagged Yum Brands’ other prominent units, Taco Bell and KFC International, falling for seven consecutive quarters. In comparison, Taco Bell last reported negative comparable sales in June 2020.

Yum Brands’ shares were up about 2% in premarket trading after the company banked on 7% growth in Taco Bell U.S. same-store sales and 3% growth in KFC International to beat third quarter estimates.

Pizza Hut accounts for about 11% of Yum Brands’ operating profits, compared with about 38% for Taco Bell’s U.S. business.

Several quarters of price hikes at restaurants, sticky inflation and economic uncertainty have forced consumers to become more wary about dining out as they look to stretch their budgets. Still, pizzas are viewed as a value-option to feed families.

Industry giant Domino’s Pizza DPZ.O said in October that although fast-food traffic was slowing, consumers were still seeking out its pizzas, helped by promotions and new menu items, as well as its delivery partnerships with third-party aggregators such as Doordash DASH.O and UberEats UBER.N.

While Pizza Hut has also offered value deals such as various personal pizzas for $5 and $2, “an insufficient value message amid a competitive value landscape resulted in transaction softness,” company veteran and former CEO David Gibbs said in August.

Taco Bell’s Tex-Mex cuisine and its more affordable prices have held Yum Brands in good stead against the slowdown in dining out.

Yum Brands’ worldwide same-store sales grew 3% during the quarter ended September 30, 2025 edging past estimates of a 2.68% increase, according to data compiled by LSEG.

Adjusted profit per share of $1.58 beat estimates of $1.49.

Packaged food giant PepsiCo acquired Pizza Hut in 1977, but spun off the chain along with KFC and Taco Bell in 1997 to create a restaurants company, which took on the name Yum Brands in 2002.

A deadline to complete Pizza Hut‘s strategic review has not been set, and there was no assurance that the process would result in a transaction, Yum Brands said on Friday.

Kimberly-Clark said on Monday it will buy Tylenol maker Kenvue KVUE.N in a cash-and-stock deal valued at about $48.7 billion, to create one of the biggest consumer health goods companies in the United States.

Shares of Kenvue were up 18% in premarket trading, while Kimberly-Clark‘s shares were down 12.5%.

Kenvue has been under a strategic review, leadership shake-up, and mounting litigation risks. It came under fresh scrutiny following President Donald Trump’s comments linking its popular pain medicine Tylenol to autism.

The deal will bring together brands including Neutrogena, Huggies and Kleenex under a consumer health and personal care company with expected combined annual revenues of roughly $32 billion.

Sources in June told Reuters the strategic review of its operations could include a sale or breakup of the company that had been spun off from healthcare conglomerate Johnson & Johnson JNJ.N in 2023.

Kenvue‘s shareholders will receive $3.50 per share and 0.15 Kimberly-Clark shares for each Kenvue share held. That implies a per-share deal value of $21.01, or an equity value of $40.32 billion, according to Reuters calculations.

President Donald Trump’s tariffs are hitting toy giants Mattel and Hasbro as the critical holiday season nears. Still, both companies see a successful year end ahead.

“This quarter, our U.S. business was again challenged by industry-wide shifts in retailer ordering patterns,” CEO Ynon Kreiz said on Mattel’s recent earnings call. “That said, consumer demand for our products grew in every region, including in the U.S.”

During the most recent quarter, which ended Sept. 30, Mattel said sales slipped 6% globally, led by a 12% decline in North America. International sales rose 3%.

Some of the company’s top performing categories included Hot Wheels and action figures, primarily from the “Jurassic World,” Minecraft and WWE franchises.

Other Mattel brands saw a drop in sales, however, including Barbie and Fisher-Price.

With retail stores waiting until the last minute to assess the level of tariffs that would apply to their holiday orders, Kreiz said “since the beginning of the fourth quarter, orders from retailers in the U.S. have accelerated significantly.”

Retailers “expect strong demand for the holiday and they are restocking,” he added.

Meanwhile, rival toy giant Hasbro’s revenue jumped 8% in the quarter and it raised its financial guidance for the rest of the year.

Key drivers of that included “Peppa Pig” and Marvel franchise toys, as well as the Wizards of the Coast games.

Hasbro “managed tariff volatility with agility” and used price hikes to protect its margins, said Gina Goetter, the company’s chief financial officer and chief operating officer.

The company remains “firmly on track” to achieve its financial targets.

“As we calculate the various scenarios of where that absolute rates will play out, we’re really putting all of our levers to work,” she said on the company’s recent earnings call.

“From how we think about pricing, how we’re thinking about our product mix, how we’re thinking about our supply chain, and how we’re managing all of our operating expenses to mitigate and offset the impact” of tariffs, she said.

For its part, Hasbro also saw “softness” in the U.S. during the quarter due to retail chains waiting longer to place holiday orders, but said momentum is accelerating as the season gets underway.

In July, Mattel’s chief financial officer, Paul Ruh, said that the company was raising prices because of tariffs.

“We have implemented a variety of actions that will help us withstand some of those headwinds and those include … supply chain efficiencies and some pricing adjustments, particularly in the U.S.,” Ruh said on the company’s earnings conference call.

“So with that array of actions, we’re able to withstand some of the uncertainty that is mostly coming in the top line,” Ruh said. “Our goal is to keep prices as low as possible for our consumers.”

Still, Kreiz said that “consumers are buying our products and the toy industry is growing.”

He also said that consumers are taking price hikes in stride and those increases haven’t hurt demand: “We are not seeing any slowdown in consumer demand so far.”

Hasbro CEO Chris Cocks said the company has also raised some prices, but it was “pretty surgical” in what it chose to adjust.

“In terms of ongoing pricing, I think we just kind of have to see how the holiday goes and the consumer holds up,” he told analysts on the company’s earnings call.

Cocks also cautioned that there may be a two-tier economy forming, something other executives and economists have observed in recent months.

“Right now, I think it’s really kind of a tale of two consumers. The top 20%, particularly in the U.S., continue to spend pretty robustly,” he said. “The balance of households are watching their wallets a bit more.”

On Friday, the Labor Department released the latest consumer price index data, which showed that inflation is rising at a 3% annual pace, up from August’s 2.9%.

In May, Kreiz told CNBC that approximately half of the company’s toys were sourced from China.

Beijing has faced some of the steepest tariffs from Washington of any U.S. trade partner, as Trump has rolled out his disruptive trade agenda this year.

Mattel’s Ruh said the company continued to adjust its supply chains in response to shifting global tariff policies.

“We will be continuing to work with our retailers to make sure that the product is on the shelf,” he said.

At the same time, Hasbro’s Goetter said the company is diversifying its supply chains away from high-tariff countries.

“By 2026, we expect approximately 30% of our total Hasbro toy and game revenue will be sourced from China and 30% of our revenue will be based in the U.S., as we opportunistically lean into our U.S. manufacturing capacity,” she said.