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The list of major companies laying off staff this year includes Oracle, Nextdoor, Intel, Scale AI, and more

Peloton logo outside its New York City studios while woman walks by holding umbrella
Peloton said in August that it is making further cuts to its head count this year.

John Smith/VIEWpress

  • Companies such as Peloton, Intel, Meta, Microsoft, BlackRock, and UPS have trimmed staff this year.
  • In some cases, artificial intelligence is reshaping workforces.
  • See the list of companies letting workers go in 2025.

The list of companies laying off employees this year is growing.

Layoffs and other workforce reductions have continued in 2025, following two years of significant job cuts in tech, media, finance, manufacturing, retail, and energy.

While the reasons for slimming staff vary, the cost-cutting measures are coming amid technological change. A World Economic Forum survey found that some 41% of companies worldwide expect to reduce their workforces over the next five years because of the rise of artificial intelligence.

Companies such as Oracle, CNN, Dropbox, and Block have previously announced job cuts related to AI. Though Amazon has not announced job cuts this year, CEO Andy Jassy told employees in June that the company will need "fewer people doing some of the jobs that are being done today" in the coming years as it expands its use of generative AI and agents.

Meanwhile, tech jobs in big data, fintech, and AI are expected to double by 2030, according to the WEF.

Here are the companies with job cuts planned or already underway in 2025 so far, in alphabetical order.

Adidas plans to cut up to 500 jobs in Germany.
Adidas shoes are seen in the store in Hoofddorp, Netherlands.
Despite a strong year, Adidas is planning job cuts.

Jakub Porzycki/NurPhoto via Getty Images

Adidas said in January that it would reduce the size of its workforce at its headquarters in Herzogenaurach, Germany, affecting up to 500 jobs, CNBC reported.

If fully executed, it amounts to a reduction of nearly 9% at the company headquarters, which employs about 5,800 employees, according to the Adidas website.

The news came shortly after the company announced it had outperformed its profit expectations at the end of 2024, touting "better-than-expected" results in the fourth quarter.

An Adidas spokesperson said the company had grown "too complex because of our current operating model."

"To set adidas up for long-term success, we are now starting to look at how we align our operating model with the reality of how we work. This may have an impact on the organizational structure and number of roles based at our HQ in Herzogenaurach."

The company said it is not a cost-cutting measure and could not confirm concrete numbers.

Ally is cutting less than 5% of workers.
Hands typing on a laptop with the Ally website on its screen.

Ally Bank/Facebook

The digital-financial-services company Ally is laying off roughly 500 of its 11,000 employees, a spokesperson confirmed to BI.

"As we continue to right-size our company, we made the difficult decision to selectively reduce our workforce in some areas, while continuing to hire in our other areas of our business," the spokesperson said.

The spokesperson also said the company was offering severance, outplacement support, and the opportunity to apply for openings at Ally.

Ally made a similar level of cuts in October 2023, the Charlotte Observer reported.

Automattic, Tumblr's parent, cuts 16% of staff
Logo of Tumblr.

Thiago Prudencio/SOPA/LightRocket/Getty Images

Automattic, the parent company of Tumblr and WordPress, said in April it is cutting 16% of its staff globally. The company's website said it has nearly 1,500 employees.

Automattic's CEO, Matt Mullenweg, said in a note to employees posted online that the company has reached an "important crossroads."

"While our revenue continues to grow, Automattic operates in a highly competitive market, and technology is evolving at unprecedented levels," the note read.

The company is restructuring to improve its "productivity, profitability, and capacity to invest," it added.

The company said it was offering severance and job placement resources to affected employees.

BlackRock is cutting 1% of its workforce.
A black-and-white photo of the BlackRock logo on a building, viewed from below.

Eric Thayer/Reuters

BlackRock told employees it was planning to cut about 200 people of its 21,000-strong workforce, Bloomberg reported in January.

The reductions were more than offset by some 3,750 workers who were added last year and another 2,000 expected to be added in 2025.

BlackRock's president, Rob Kapito, and its chief operating officer, Rob Goldstein, said the cuts would help realign the firm's resources with its strategy, Bloomberg reported.

Block to lay off nearly 1,000 workers
Smartphone with Square logo is seen in front of displayed Afterpay logo

REUTERS/Dado Ruvi

Jack Dorsey's fintech company, Block, is laying off nearly 1,000 employees, according to TechCrunch and The Guardian, in its second major workforce reduction in just over a year.

The company, which operates Square, Afterpay, CashApp, and Tidal, is transitioning nearly 200 managers into non-management roles and closing almost 800 open positions, according to an email obtained by TechCrunch.

Dorsey, who co-founded Block in 2009 after previously leading Twitter, announced the layoffs in March in an internal email titled "smaller block."

The restructuring is part of a broader effort to streamline operations, though Block maintains the changes are not driven by financial targets or AI replacements.

Bloomberg is making cuts in an overhaul of its newsroom
Bloomberg LP NYC office exterior

Eduardo Munoz/Reuters

Bloomberg is cutting some editorial staff as the company reorganizes its newsroom, according to a memo viewed by BI. The larger strategy aims to have a larger headcount by the end of this year, however.

The newsroom currently employs around 2,700 people, and the changes will merge some smaller teams into larger units, the memo said.

Blue Origin is laying off one-tenth of its workforce
Blue Origin

Mark Wilson/Getty Images

Jeff Bezos's rocket company, Blue Origin, is laying off about 10% of its workforce, a move that could affect more than 1,000 employees.

In a memo sent to staff in February and obtained by Business Insider, David Limp, the CEO of Blue Origin, said the company's priority going forward was "to scale our manufacturing output and launch cadence with speed, decisiveness and efficiency for our customers."

Limp specifically identified roles in engineering, research and development, and management as targets.

"We grew and hired incredibly fast in the last few years, and with that growth came more bureaucracy and less focus than we needed," Limp wrote. "It also became clear that the makeup of our organization must change to ensure our roles are best aligned with executing these priorities."

The news comes after January's debut launch of the company's partially reusable rocket — New Glenn.

Boeing cut 400 roles from its moon rocket program
Boeing Employees Renton Washington

Stephen Brashear/Getty Images

Boeing announced on February 8 that it plans to cut 400 roles from its moon rocket program amid delays and rising costs related to NASA's Artemis moon exploration missions.

Artemis 2, a crewed flight to orbit the moon on Boeing's space launch system, has been rescheduled from late 2024 to September 2025. Artemis 3, intended to be the first astronaut moon landing in the program, was delayed from late 2025 and is now planned for September 2026.

"To align with revisions to the Artemis program and cost expectations, we informed our Space Launch Systems team of the potential for approximately 400 fewer positions by April 2025," a Boeing spokesperson told Business Insider. "We are working with our customer and seeking opportunities to redeploy employees across our company to minimize job losses and retain our talented teammates."

The company will issue 60-day notices of involuntary layoff to impacted employees "in coming weeks," the spokesperson said.

Boeing cut 10% of its workforce last year.

BP slashed 7,700 staff and contractor positions worldwide
A BP logo on a gas station sign.

John Keeble/Getty Images

BP told Business Insider in January that it planned to cut 4,700 staff and 3,000 contractors, amounting to about 5% of its global workforce.

The cuts were part of a program to "simplify and focus" BP that began last year.

"We are strengthening our competitiveness and building in resilience as we lower our costs, drive performance improvement and play to our distinctive capabilities," the company said.

Bridgewater cut about 90 staff
An office in a forested area with a glass bridge connecting buildings.
Outside Bridgewater Associates' Westport, Connecticut headquarters.

Bridgewater Associates

Bridgewater Associates cut 7% of its staff in January in an effort to stay lean, a person familiar with the matter told Business Insider.

The layoffs at the world's largest hedge fund bring its head count back to where it was in 2023, the person said.

The company's founder, Ray Dalio, said in a 2019 interview that about 30% of new employees were leaving the firm within 18 months.

Bumble said it intends to cut 30% of its workforce.
whitney wolfe herd bumble ceo founder
Founder and CEO of Bumble Whitney Wolfe attends Bumble Presents: Empowering Connections at Fair Market on March 9, 2018 in Austin, Texas.

Vivien Killilea/Getty Images for Bumble

In a June 23 securities filing, Bumble said it plans to slash 240 roles, about 30% of its workforce. The dating app company said the cuts will result in charges between $13 million and $18 million in its third and fourth quarters.

"We recently made some difficult decisions to adjust our team structure in order to align with our strategic priorities," a Bumble spokesperson said.

They told BI that the decision to lay off over 200 employees wasn't "made lightly."

Burberry says it plans on cutting 1,700 jobs
Burberry logo and flag

Pietro Recchia/SOPA Images/LightRocket/Getty Images

Burberry announced 1,700 job cuts in May, or about 18% of its global workforce, as part of plans to cut costs by about £100 million ($130 million) by 2027.

It plans to end night shifts at its Yorkshire raincoat factory due to production over-capacity.

The British company sunk to an operating loss of £3 million for the year to the end of March, compared with a £418 million profit for the previous 12 months.

Chevron is slashing up to 20% of its global head count
The Chevron logo is displayed at a Chevron gas station.
The Chevron logo is displayed at a Chevron gas station.

PATRICK T. FALLON/AFP via Getty Images

Oil giant Chevron plans to cull 15% to 20% of its global workforce by the end of 2026, the company said in a statement to Business Insider in February.

Chevron employed 45,600 people as of December 2023, which means the layoff could cut 9,000 jobs.

The move aims to reduce costs and simplify the company's business as it completes its acquisition of oil producer Hess, which is held up in legal limbo. It is expected to save the company $2 billion to $3 billion by the end of 2026, the company said.

"Chevron is taking action to simplify our organizational structure, execute faster and more effectively, and position the company for stronger long-term competitiveness," a Chevron spokesperson said in a statement.

The cuts follow a series of layoffs at other oil and gas companies, including BP and natural gas producer EQT.

CNN plans to cut 200 jobs
CNN's world headquarters in Atlanta.
CNN is cutting staff in a bid to focus the business on its digital news services.

Brandon Bell/Getty Images

Cable news giant CNN cut about 200 television-focused roles as part of a digital pivot. The cuts amounted to about 6% of the company's workforce.

In a memo sent to staff on January 23, CNN's CEO Mark Thompson said he aimed to "shift CNN's gravity towards the platforms and products where the audience themselves are shifting and, by doing that, to secure CNN's future as one of the world's greatest news organizations."

Coty is cutting about 700 jobs
OTY logo is seen displayed on a smartphone and in the background.

Illustration by Avishek Das/SOPA Images/LightRocket via Getty Images

Coty, which sells cosmetics and fragrances under brands such as Kylie Cosmetics, Calvin Klein, and Burberry, is cutting about 700 jobs.

The company said on April 24 it aimed to cut costs by $130 million a year. Sue Nabi, the CEO, said it aimed to build a "stronger, more resilient Coty that is well-positioned for sustainable growth."

CrowdStrike is cutting about 500 jobs
Crowdstrike logo on a phone screen
The IT outage was triggered by a defect in an update issued by Crowdstrike.

Jonathan Raa/NurPhoto/Getty Images

CrowdStrike, the Texas-headquartered cybersecurity firm, is cutting about 500 jobs, or 5% of its global workforce, as part of a strategic plan to "yield greater efficiencies."

It expects the layoffs to cost between $36 million and $53 million.

CrowdStrike is aiming to generate $10 billion in annual recurring revenue.

The company reported worse-than-expected annual results in March, signaling that it was yet to fully recover from a widespread tech outage linked to CrowdStrike in July 2024.

Disney says it's laying off several hundred employees
Disney logo is seen on the store in Rome, Italy on May 10, 2025. (Photo by Jakub Porzycki/NurPhoto via Getty Images)
Disney is carrying out its fourth layoff in the past year.

Jakub Porzycki/NurPhoto via Getty Images

Disney confirmed to BI on June 2 that it was laying off several hundred employees globally.

Most of the cuts were to roles in marketing for films and TV under the Disney Entertainment division. Other roles affected included employees in publicity, casting, and development, as well as corporate finance.

In March, the company also cut around 200 people from its ABC News Group and Disney Entertainment Networks. In 2024, the company also had several rounds of layoffs.

Shortly after Bob Iger returned to the company as CEO in 2022, he said 7,000 jobs at Disney would be cut as part of a reorganization.

Estée Lauder will cut as many as 7,000 jobs
estee lauder
American multinational skincare, and beauty products brand, Estée Lauder logo seen in Hong Kong.

Budrul Chukrut/SOPA Images/LightRocket via Getty Images

Cosmetics giant Estée Lauder said in its second-quarter earnings release on February 4 that it will cut between 5,800 and 7,000 jobs as the company restructures over the next two years.

The cuts will focus on "rightsizing" certain teams, and it will look to outsource certain services. The company says it expects annual gross benefits of between $0.8 billion and $1.0 billion before tax.

Geico has axed tens of thousands of workers
geico

Geico

Berkshire Hathaway Vice Chair of Insurance Operations Ajit Jain says Geico has reduced its workforce from about 50,000 to about 20,000. Jain revealed the reductions during Berkshire Hathaway's annual meeting on May 3 but did not detail over what time frame they took place. Berkshire Hathaway is one of Geico's parent companies.

Warren Buffett's company reported its 2025 first-quarter earnings on during the May 3 meeting, saying Geico earned nearly $2.2 billion in pre-tax underwriting.

GrubHub announced 500 job cuts
A Grubhub delivery person rides in Manhattan.
GrubHub said it is focusing on aligning its business with Wonder after the takeover was completed last month.

Andrew Kelly/REUTERS

Grubhub CEO Howard Migdal announced 500 job cuts on February 28 after selling the company to Wonder Group for $650 million.

With more than 2,200 full time employees, the number of cuts will affect more than 20% of Grubhub's previous workforce.

According to Reuters, Just Eat Takeaway, an Amsterdam-listed company, sold Grubhub at a steep loss compared to the billions it paid a few years prior after grappling with slowing growth and high taxes.

HPE is laying off 2,500 employees
A man with grey hair wears a blue collared shirt and dark blue shirt. He gestures as he speaks while sitting on a stage in front of a large blue screen.
US company Hewlett Packard Enterprise President and Chief Officer Executive Antonio Neri gives a conference at the Mobile World Congress (MWC), the telecom industry's biggest annual gathering, in Barcelona on February 27, 2024.

PAU BARRENA / AFP

Hewlett Packard Enterprise is cutting 2,500 jobs, or 5% of its employee base, CEO Antonio Neri said on an earnings call on March 6. The cuts are expected take to take place over the next 12 to 18 months.

"Doing so will better align our cost structure to our business mix and long-term strategy," Neri said. The company expects to save $350 million by 2027 because of the reduction.

HPE plummeted about 20% after hours on March 6 after it said business would be affected by recent tariffs, slow server and cloud sales, and "execution issues."

Intel to cut at least 15% of its factory workers
The Intel headquarters in Santa Clara, California
The Intel headquarters in Santa Clara, California

Bloomberg/Bloomberg via Getty Images

Chipmaker Intel is laying off more than 5,000 employees across four US states, according to a July 16 government filing.

Most of the cuts are happening in California and Oregon, while others are in Texas and Arizona, per updated Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification, or WARN, filings.

Intel began laying off employees in July as part of planned job cuts, the company said in a regulatory filing.

The company told staff on June 14 to expect 15% to 20% of employees in its Foundry division to be laid off this summer, according to a memo reported by The Oregonian. Intel confirmed the authenticity of the memo to BI but declined to comment on its contents.

As of December 2024, Intel employed about 108,900 people. In its annual report, the company told investors that it would reduce its "core Intel workforce" by about 15% in early 2025.

"Removing organizational complexity and empowering our engineers will enable us to better serve the needs of our customers and strengthen our execution," an Intel spokesperson told BI.

Johns Hopkins University
Johns Hopkins Hospital
Johns Hopkins Hospital.

Courtesy of Johns Hopkins Medicine

Johns Hopkins University will cut over 2,000 jobs after losing $800 million in funding from USAID.

"This is a difficult day for our entire community," a spokesperson told BI. "The termination of more than $800 million in USAID funding is now forcing us to wind down critical work here in Baltimore and internationally."

The news comes after the Trump administration slashed USAID personnel down from over 10,000 to around 300. Secretary of State Marco Rubio recently confirmed that 83% of the agency's programs are now dead.

"We can confirm that the elimination of foreign aid funding has led to the loss of 1,975 positions in 44 countries internationally and 247 in the United States in the affected programs," the Johns Hopkins spokesperson said. "An additional 29 international and 78 domestic employees will be furloughed with a reduced schedule."

The layoffs at Johns Hopkins represent the "largest" in the university's history, CNN reported. They'll primarily affect the schools of medicine and public health, along with the Center for Communication Programs and Jhpiego, a nonprofit with a focus on preventing diseases and bolstering women's health, according to the report.

Kohl's is reducing about 10% of its roles
A Kohl's department store in Miami.
A Kohl's department store in Miami.

Joe Raedle/Getty Images

Department store Kohl's announced on January 28 that it reduced about 10% of its corporate roles to "increase efficiencies" and "improve profitability for the long-term health and benefit of the business," a spokesperson told BI.

"Kohl's reduced approximately 10 percent of the roles that report into its corporate offices," the spokesperson said. "More than half of the total reduction will come from closing open positions while the remainder of the positions were currently held by our associates."

Less than 200 existing employees of the company would be impacted, she added.

This follows the company's announcement on January 9 that it would shutter 27 underperforming stores across 15 states by April.

The retailer has been struggling with declining sales, reporting an 8.8% decline in net sales in the third quarter of 2024.

Its previous CEO, Tom Kingsbury, stepped down on January 15. The company's board appointed Ashley Buchanan, a retail veteran who had held top jobs in The Michaels Companies, Macy's, and Walmart, as the new CEO.

Meta is cutting 5% of its workforce
Meta sign
Meta slashed its DEI team in January.

Fabrice COFFRINI/AFP/Getty Images

Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg told staff he "decided to raise the bar on performance management" and will act quickly to "move out low-performers," according to an internal memo seen by BI in January.

Those cuts started in February, according to records obtained by BI. Teams overseeing Facebook, the Horizon virtual reality platform, as well as logistics were among the hardest hit.

In April, Meta also laid off an undisclosed number of employees on the Reality Labs virtual reality division.

Previously, the company had laid off more than 21,000 workers since 2022.

Microchip Technology is slashing 2,000 jobs
Semiconductor manufacturing.
Nvidia semiconductor manufacturing.

Krystian Nawrocki/Getty Images

Microchip Technology is cutting its head count across the company by around 2,000 employees, the semiconductor company said on March 3.

The company estimated that it would incur between $30 million and $40 million in costs, including severance, severance benefits, and other restructuring costs.

The cuts would be communicated to employees in the March quarter and fully implemented by the end of the June quarter.

Last year, Microchip announced it was closing its Tempe, Arizona, facility because of slower-than-anticipated orders. The closure begins in May 2025 and is expected to affect 500 jobs.

Microchip's stock had fallen over 33% in the past year.

Microsoft has made several rounds of cuts this year
the Microsoft logo on a building.

NurPhoto/Getty Images

Microsoft cut an unspecified number of jobs in January based on employees' performance.

Workers were told that they wouldn't receive severance and that their benefits, such as medical insurance, would stop immediately, BI reported.

The company also laid off some employees in January at divisions including gaming and sales. A Microsoft spokesperson declined to say how many jobs were cut on the affected teams.

In May, the company announced layoffs affecting about 6,000 workers.

Another round of layoffs in July will affect less than 4% of its total workforce, or roughly 9,000 employees, based on its head count of around 220,000.

Morgan Stanley plans cuts for the end of March
Morgan Stanley

Michael M. Santiago/Getty Images

Morgan Stanley is set to initiate a round of layoffs beginning at the end of March. The firm is eyeing cuts to about 2% to 3% of its global workforce, which would equate to between 1,600 to 2,400 jobs, according to a person familiar with the matter who confirmed the reductions to BI.

The firm's cuts are driven by several imperatives, the person said, pointing to considerations like operational efficiency, evolving business priorities, and individual employees' performance. The person said the cuts are not related to broader market conditions, such as the recent slowdown in mergers and acquisitions that's arrested momentum on Wall Street.

Some MS staffers will be excluded from the cuts, however — namely, the bank's battalion of financial advisors — though some who assist them, such as administrative personnel in its wealth-management unit, could be affected by the layoffs, the person added.

Nextdoor is slashing 12% of its staff
Nextdoor app

Eric Baradat/AFP/Getty Images

Neighborhood social networking company Nextdoor is cutting 12% of its staff, or 67 jobs, it said on August 7 in its second-quarter earnings report. The move is part of CEO Nirav Tolia's plan to achieve profitability and reorganize the struggling company.

The layoffs are expected to reduce operating expenses by about $30 million, it said in the earnings report.

The company reported a net loss of $15 million, compared to $43 million year-over-year.

Nissan says it will cut 20,000 jobs by 2027
Nissan

Matthias Balk/picture alliance via Getty Images

Japanese car giant Nissan is cutting 20,000 jobs by 2027 and reducing the number of factories it operates from 17 to 10 as it struggles with a dire financial situation.

The job losses include the 9,000 layoffs announced late last year, and come as the automaker faces headwinds from US tariffs on imported vehicles and collapsing sales in China.

Nissan reported a net loss of 671 billion yen ($4.5 billion) for the 2024 financial year, and said it would not issue an operating profit forecast for 2025 because of tariff uncertainty.

Oracle is reportedly cutting jobs from its cloud division.
Oracle office in Santa Monica, California
Oracle office in Santa Monica, California

Richard Vogel/AP

Oracle is cutting jobs in its cloud unit, Bloomberg reported. The cuts come as the company works to curb costs amid spending on AI infrastructure.

Sources familiar with the cuts told Bloomberg that some of the cuts were related to performance issues.

Oracle did not immediately respond to a request for comment from Business Insider.

Panasonic is cutting 10,000 jobs
panasonic
A man looks at television sets by Japanese firm Panasonic at an electronics retailer in Tokyo June 10, 2015.

REUTERS/Thomas Peter

Panasonic, the Japanese-headquartered multinational electronics manufacturer, plans to cut 10,000 jobs this financial year, which ends in March 2026. The cuts will affect 5,000 roles in Japan and 5,000 overseas.

In a statement on May 9, the company said it planned to "thoroughly review operational efficiency … mainly in sales and indirect departments, and reevaluate the numbers of organisations and personnel actually needed."

"Through these measures, the company will optimize our personnel on a global scale," the statement added.

Paramount is cutting 3.5% of its US workforce
Paramount on building

PATRICK T. FALLON/Getty Images

Paramount told employees it would be laying off 3.5% of US-based staff based in the US, per a memo reported by CNBC on June 10, citing industry-wide declines and a challenging macroeconomic environment.

The move comes after the media company cut 15% of jobs last year to cut costs. Paramount had 18,600 employees at the end of 2024.

It is awaiting regulatory approval of its merger with Skydance Media.

Peloton is looking for $100 million in run-rate savings by next year
FILE PHOTO: A Peloton exercise bike is seen after the ringing of the opening bell for the company's IPO at the Nasdaq Market site in New York City, New York, U.S., September 26, 2019. REUTERS/Shannon Stapleton
A Peloton exercise bike is seen after the ringing of the opening bell for the company's IPO at the Nasdaq Market site in New York City

Reuters

Peloton said in its August earnings report that it would cut its global headcount as part of an effort to find $100 million in run-rate cost savings by the end of the next fiscal year.

"As of today, we will have actioned about roughly half of the run rate savings through the reductions in our workforce and we expect to achieve the remainder throughout the balance of the year," CFO Elizabeth Coddington told investors on the earnings call.

The company employed about 2,900 people last year, and approximately 6% of the workforce will be affected by the reductions, Reuters reported.

Porsche is cutting 3,900 jobs over the next few years
The Porsche logo on the front trunk lid of a gold 2025 Porsche Taycan GTS EV sedan.
The Porsche logo on the front of a 2025 Porsche Taycan GTS EV.

Benjamin Zhang/Business Insider

Porsche said on March 12 that it plans to cut 3,900 jobs in the coming years.

About 2,000 of the reductions will come with the expiration of fixed-term contractor positions, the German automaker said. The company will make the other 1,900 reductions by 2029 through natural attrition and limiting hiring, it said.

Porsche said it also plans to discuss more potential changes with labor leaders in the second half of the year. "This will also make Porsche even more efficient in the medium and long term," the company said.

PwC is laying off approximately 2% of its US workforce
PwC, or Pricewaterhousecoopers.
PwC office in Washington D.C. in the United States of America, on July 11th, 2024. (Photo by Beata Zawrzel/NurPhoto via Getty Images)

Beata Zawrzel/NurPhoto/Getty Images

The Big Four accounting firm said it's cutting roughly 1,500 jobs in the US because its low attrition rates mean not enough people are leaving by choice.

PwC's layoffs began on May 5 and mostly affect the firm's audit and tax lines, a person familiar with the matter told Business Insider.

"This was a difficult decision, and we made it with care, thoughtfulness, and a deep awareness of its impact on our people, appreciating that historically low levels of attrition over consecutive years have made it necessary to take this step," a PwC spokesperson said.

Salesforce is cutting more than 1,000 jobs
The outside of Salesforce Tower with the Salesforce logo, which is shaped like a cloud.

Gary Hershorn / Getty Images

Bloomberg reported in February that Salesforce, a cloud-based customer management software company, will slash more than 1,000 jobs from its nearly 73,000-strong workforce.

Affected employees will be eligible to apply to open internal roles, the outlet reported. The company is hiring salespeople focused on the company's new AI-powered products.

The cuts come despite Salesforce reporting a strong financial performance during its third-quarter earnings in December.

Salesforce did not respond to a request for comment.

Scale AI is cutting 14% of its workforce
Scale AI office
Scale AI is laying off 14% of its full time staff and hundreds of contractors.

Smith Collection/Gado/Getty Images

On July 16, Scale AI laid off about 200 full-time employees and 500 contractors, according to the company.

The 200 full-time cuts make up 14% of the data labeling startup's 1,400-person workforce.

The company is restructuring its generative AI group, according to an email from Scale's interim CEO, Jason Droege, obtained by Business Insider.

The cuts follow Meta's $14 billion investment in Scale AI in June as part of a blockbuster deal. The deal included the hiring of Scale's ex-CEO, Alexandr Wang, and the purchase of equity in almost half of the startup.

Sonos cuts about 200 jobs
Sonos

Christoph Dernbach/picture alliance via Getty Images

Sonos, a California-based audio equipment company, said in a February 5 release that it's cutting about 200 roles.

The announcement came nearly a month after Sonos CEO Patrick Spence stepped down following a disastrous app rollout. Interim CEO Tom Conrad said in the statement that the layoffs were part of an effort to create a "simpler organization."

Southwest Airlines
Southwest Airlines Boeing plane at an airport.
A Southwest Airlines Boeing 737.

AaronP/Bauer-Griffin/GC Images

Southwest Airlines CEO Bob Jordan announced in February that the company is laying off 15% of its corporate staff, or about 1,750 employees.

He said affected workers will keep their pay, benefits, and bonuses through late April, when the separations will take effect.

The company told investors the cuts would save about $210 million this year and $300 million in 2026.

The move comes as Southwest tries to cut costs amid profitability problems. Jordan said this is the first significant layoff the company has had in its 53-year history.

An activist hedge fund took a stake in Southwest in June and has since helped restructure its board and change its business model to keep up with a changing industry. For example, it plans to end its long-standing open-seating policy to generate more seating revenue.

In recent months, the company has also reduced flight crew positions in Atlanta to cut costs.

Starbucks is laying off 1,100 corporate staff
A customer wearing a magenta coat and black earmuffs opens the door and walks into a Starbucks store in New York City.

ANGELA WEISS / AFP via Getty Images

Starbucks planned to notify 1,100 corporate employees that they had been laid off on February 25.

CEO Brian Niccol said in a memo that the layoffs will make Starbucks "operate more efficiently, increase accountability, reduce complexity and drive better integration."

The layoffs won't affect employees at Starbucks stores, the company said.

Niccol told employees that layoffs were on the way in a separate memo in January. The company is trying to improve results after sales slid last year.

Stripe laid off 300 employees
The logo for Stripe.
Stripe.

Pavlo Gonchar/SOPA Images/LightRocket via Getty Images

Payments platform Stripe laid off 300 employees, primarily in product, engineering, and operations, according to a January 20 memo obtained by BI.

Chief people officer Rob McIntosh said in the memo that the company still planned on growing its head count to about 10,000 employees by the end of the year.

UPS is cutting 20,000 jobs
A UPS Delivery Driver

Vincent Alban/REUTERS

UPS announced on April 29 that it plans to cut 20,000 jobs this year — about 4% of its global workforce — as part of a shift toward automation and a strategic reduction in business with Amazon.

"With our action, we will emerge as an even stronger, more nimble UPS," the company's CEO, Carol Tomé, said in a statement.

The move follows a sharp 16% drop in Amazon package volume in Q4 and is part of a plan to halve its Amazon business by mid-2026. UPS will also close 73 US buildings by June and automate 400 facilities to reduce labor dependency.

The Teamsters union have said they would fight any layoffs affecting its members.

The Washington Post cut 4% of its non-newsroom workforce
The Washington Post building

Andrew Harnik/Getty Images

The Washington Post eliminated fewer than 100 employees in an effort to cut costs, Reuters reported in January.

A spokesperson told the news agency that the cuts wouldn't affect the newsroom: "The Washington Post is continuing its transformation to meet the needs of the industry, build a more sustainable future and reach audiences where they are."

Wayfair laid off 340 tech employees
Wayfair logo on building
Wayfair laid off about 340 tech employees.

Scott Olson/Getty Images

Wayfair announced in an SEC filing on March 7 that it would eliminate its Austin Technology Development Center and lay off around 340 tech workers.

The reorg comes as the technology team has accomplished "significant modernization and replatforming milestones," the company said in the filing. Wayfair said it plans to refocus resources and streamline operations to promote its "next phase of growth."

"With the foundation of this transformation now in place, our technology needs have shifted," the company said.

Wayfair expects to take on $33 to $38 million in costs as a result of the reorganization, consisting of severance, cash employee-related costs, benefits, and transitional costs.

Workday cut more than 8% of its workforce
Workday logo
Workday said it's cutting 8.5% of its workforce and focusing on AI.

Smith Collection/Gado/Getty Images

Workday, the human-resources software company, said in February that it is cutting 8.5% of its workforce, or around 1,750 employees. The layoffs came as the company focuses more on artificial intelligence.

In a note to employees, CEO Carl Eschenbach said that Workday will focus on hiring in areas related to artificial intelligence and work to expand its global presence.

"The environment we're operating in today demands a new approach, particularly given our size and scale," Eschenbach wrote. He said that affected employees will get at least 12 weeks of pay.

Is your company conducting layoffs? Got a tip?
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Have a tip? Contact Dominick Reuter via email or text/call/Signal at 646.768.4750. Use a personal email address, a nonwork WiFi network, and a nonwork device; here's our guide to sharing information securely.

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Boeing faces fresh delays to new versions of its wildly popular 737 Max as it doubles down on its safety focus

The first Boeing 737 MAX 7 aircraft sits on the tarmac outside of the Boeing factory on February 5, 2018 in Renton, Washington. The 737 MAX 7 will have the longest range of the MAX airplane line with a maximum range of 3,850 nautical miles.
A Boeing 737 Max 7 jet outside the factory.

Stephen Brashear/Getty Images

  • Boeing said it will further delay the launch of two new 737 Max variants to 2026.
  • The delays come as the planemaker wrestles with a potential issue regarding the plane's deicing.
  • "We're going to have to back up and make some additional design changes," said CEO Kelly Ortberg.

A pair of upcoming variants of Boeing's most popular plane, the 737 Max have been further delayed to 2026, CEO Kelly Ortberg confirmed in an earnings call Tuesday.

Achieving certification for the Max 7 and Max 10 will be a key benchmark for Ortberg, who is approaching one year at the helm and has been leading Boeing's turnaround.

The company had initially hoped the Max 7, the shortest version of the flagship narrow-body jet, would be certified in 2022.

However, it has been constrained by work on the engine anti-ice system, a key safety feature that prevents ice from building up during cold weather conditions and at high altitude.

"Work on the solution is taking longer than expected, and we now are expecting certification in 2026," Ortberg said on the second-quarter earnings call.

The delay was first reported last week by industry publication The Air Current.

Back in 2023, the Federal Aviation Administration warned that the system could cause the engine to overheat — and potentially result in debris breaking off and hitting the plane.

Boeing then requested an exemption, saying an engine breakup is "extremely improbable," but withdrew this request in January 2024 as it faced a safety crisis in the wake of the Alaska Airlines blowout.

Figuring out a solution for the complex system has been far from straightforward.

Ortberg told investors on Tuesday that Boeing has been exploring different design paths.

"We found some issues with the design implementation we had, so we're going to have to back up and make some additional design changes to get through that de-icing requirement," he said.

"Basically, the engineering designs have not yielded in the time frame that we were anticipating, and so we still have work to do."

His comments came after Ryanair's earnings call last week, when CEO Michael O'Leary said Boeing's commercial airplanes chief wrote to confirm the airline's first 15 Max 10s would be delivered in the spring of 2027.

A Boeing spokesperson said: "We are maturing a technical solution that includes design updates. The modifications would be included in the baseline certification of the 737-7 and 737-10. We are finalizing our analysis and will present the information to the FAA. We will continue to work under their rigorous oversight to meet safety and regulatory requirements."

Meanwhile, Boeing is also working to certify the 777X — a twin-engine wide-body jet, also years behind schedule. It's now expected to enter service in 2026 as well.

"Flight testing continues with no new technical issues to report," Ortberg said during the earnings call.

Boeing reported quarterly revenues above expectations of $22.7 billion, with a net loss of $612 million.

It's been ramping up production of its cash-cow 737 Max, reaching the 38-a-month limit imposed by the FAA.

Its share price fell about 4% on Tuesday, but is still up more than 30% since the start of the year.

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I went on board Qatar Airways' Boeing 777 that took Europe's best soccer team to the US in the 'world's best business class'

The author takes a selfie in front of a Qatar Airways Boeing 777 in the PSG Champions League livery, at the 2025 Paris Air Show
The author and the Qatar Airways Boeing 777 at last month's Paris Air Show.

Pete Syme/BI

  • Qatar Airways brought a unique Boeing 777 to the Paris Air Show.
  • The same plane transported the PSG soccer team days before the huge industry gathering.
  • I toured its award-winning business class and the large cockpit.

I might never have achieved my childhood dream of becoming a world-class soccer player, but at June's Paris Air Show, I had the chance to see how some of them travel.

Qatar Airways exhibited a Boeing 777-300ER dressed in a unique blue livery, decorated with the logos of the Champions League and Paris Saint-Germain.

The airline sponsors the French soccer team, which is also owned by the Qatari sovereign wealth fund. This particular plane was used to transport them to the US for this year's FIFA Club World Cup. PSG play in Sunday's final against Chelsea.

While the interior was the same as a typical Qatar Airways 777, it was certainly an added highlight knowing that some of the world's best athletes had been flying on the same jet just a few days earlier.

Regardless, it's also safe to say that the interior is best-in-class. The day before my tour, Skytrax named Qatar Airways the world's best airline.

From the cockpit to the award-winning QSuite business class, here's what it was like on board the jumbo jet.

Qatar Airways' Boeing 777 attracted a lot of attention at the Paris Air Show.
A front view of a Qatar Airways Boeing 777 in the PSG Champions League livery at the 2025 Paris Air Show
People waited to tour the huge plane throughout the weeklong air show.

Pete Syme/BI

Unlike most of the other planes on display at the Paris Air Show, anybody could line up to see on board without an appointment.

However, only some of us were allowed to sit inside the cockpit.

Just the week before, the plane took PSG to Los Angeles for the FIFA Club World Cup.
Paris Saint-Germain team members hold a USA flag in front of a Qatar Airways Boeing 777
The PSG soccer team touched down in Los Angeles a few days before the Paris Air Show began.

Courtesy of Qatar Airways

In May, PSG won the Champions League, the highest honor in European club soccer, for the first time.

They then also made it through to Sunday's FIFA Club World Cup final after beating Real Madrid 4-0 on Wednesday.

Qatar's vast wealth has allowed PSG to buy the two most expensive players ever. Neymar moved from Barcelona for 222 million euros in 2017, and Kylian Mbappé joined from Monaco a year later for 180 million euros, although both players have since moved on.

It was an imposing aircraft to walk around.
A side view of a Qatar Airways Boeing 777 in the PSG Champions League livery at the 2025 Paris Air Show
The Boeing 777 is the world's largest twin-engine jet.

Pete Syme/BI

The Boeing 777-300ER is over 240 feet long and has a wingspan of 212 feet 7 inches. Qatar Airways' layout can accommodate 354 passengers, with a maximum range of nearly 8,500 miles.

That's enough to go nonstop from New York to Thailand.

I boarded the plane in the business-class section, checking out the QSuites.
A view of the business class cabin on a Qatar Airways Boeing 777
There are 42 QSuites on board the 777-300ER.

Pete Syme/BI

Business takes up a sizable portion of the plane, with 42 suites.

Qatar Airways' business class was named the world's best for the fifth year in a row by Skytrax, considered the Oscars of the industry.

It's won many plaudits thanks to the quad layout in the center of the cabin.
A top view of a QSuite quad on a Qatar Airways Boeing 777
The QSuite Quad is ideal for groups and families.

Pete Syme/BI

The TVs can slide to the side, opening up the divider with two rear-facing seats. Privacy dividers also go all the way down, which can make passengers feel like they're sleeping in a double bed, a comfort usually reserved for only the very most expensive airplane seats.

With all the dividers down, the quad seemed like its own enormous, unique suite.
The view from inside of a QSuite quad on a Qatar Airways Boeing 777
A view from inside the Quad.

Pete Syme/BI

I took a moment to sit down and was impressed by the atmosphere it created, making the Quad a clear selling point for families compared to competitors' offerings.

Even traveling solo, QSuites are a cut above much of the competition.
A top view of a QSuite on a Qatar Airways Boeing 777
Qatar Airways' QSuites are among the best business-class seats in the industry.

Pete Syme/BI

I had the opportunity to fly in a QSuite on a Qatar Airways A350 last year, and was also impressed by the friendly service and Diptyque amenities.

The spacious suites and privacy doors make for a luxurious experience.
A front-view of a QSuite on a Qatar Airways Boeing 777
A QSuite by the window is ideal for solo passengers.

Pete Syme/BI

The seats have an array of different positions, and can lie flat at 6 feet 7 inches long.

Plus, the area on the left can be raised for use as an armrest and opened up for stowage.

The 10-abreast economy cabin looked pretty comfortable, too.
The economy cabin as seen from the rear, of a Qatar Airways Boeing 777
There are 312 seats in the economy cabin.

Pete Syme/BI

Some rows offer huge amounts of legroom.
The economy cabin as seen from the front of a Qatar Airways Boeing 777
Some aisle seats have nothing in front of them.

Pete Syme/BI

The first two center rows are only three seats wide. This means seats 19D, 25D, and 37D can offer plenty of legroom — perhaps the best choice for economy travelers.

The plane has just two classes, as Qatar Airways doesn't have premium economy, while first-class is uncommon.
A row of economy seats on a Qatar Airways Boeing 777
Economy seats have a roomy pitch of 31-32 inches.

Pete Syme/BI

Rival Emirates was relatively late to the premium economy game, only introducing it in 2021, while Qatar Airways doesn't have any plans for it.

Meanwhile, it maintains that its QSuites are better than some other carriers' first-class cabins.

Some of its older planes, like the Airbus A380, don't have QSuites, but instead have a more traditional business and first-class setup.

At the end of my tour, I also got the chance to check out the flight deck.
The flight deck of a Qatar Airways Boeing 777 with a view of the 2025 Paris Air Show through the windscreen
The 777's windscreen offered the best vista of the Paris Air Show.

Pete Syme/BI

It was a fun moment to take a breather and chat to the pilots.
A first-person perspective view from the copilot's seat on a Qatar Airways Boeing 777
A first-person view from the first officer's seat.

Pete Syme/BI

I was impressed with how friendly they were, pointing out the various bells and whistles of the intimidatingly large flight deck.

One button, at the top left, controls the WiFi, provided by Elon Musk's Starlink.
Switches on the dashboard in the cockpit of a Qatar Airways Boeing 777
The dashboard was replete with different controls.

Pete Syme/BI

Qatar Airways announced Thursday that it has completed rolling out Starlink WiFi on 54 of its Boeing 777 jets, with its Airbus A350s up next.

Business Insider previously tried it out on the airline's Starlink launch flight last October and found speeds of up to 215 Mbps — faster than most home internet connections.

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Flying taxi pilots could use AI for fast answers during emergencies, Archer CEO says

Archer Aviation's Midnight eVTOL aircraft on display at the 2025 Paris Air Show
Archer plans to deploy its Midnight aircraft in the United Arab Emirates later this year.

Pete Syme/BI

  • Archer Aviation makes the Midnight VTOL aircraft that is often called a "flying taxi."
  • CEO Adam Goldstein said it may create an AI flight manual for air taxi pilots.
  • Archer is partnering with Palantir, Goldstein told Business Insider at the Paris Air Show.

Archer Aviation is considering creating an AI flight manual for its air taxis, its CEO told Business Insider.

"We look at using AI and LLMs [large language models] to help simplify things," Adam Goldstein said in an interview at the Paris Air Show this week.

"So, we can look at anything from a flight manual — which may be quite complex, that you can query and ask questions — to internal tools to help us move faster.

"You can imagine if you're in some type of scenario and there's a big flight manual, and you need to understand what to do very quickly, you don't want to be thumbing through some multi-hundred-page book," he added. "You want to ask a quick question, get your answer, and fix your problem."

Pilots have manuals called quick-reference handbooks that outline procedures for emergencies or other situations where the aircraft signals a warning message. The handbooks are typically on a digital device that are easier to search.

AI could make searching faster, but large-language models such as ChatGPT have faced criticism for sometimes generating incorrect information, known as hallucinations.

Silicon Valley-based Archer has partnered with Palantir for work with AI, saying they would develop software to improve a range of systems, including air traffic control, movement control, and route planning.

"There's big complicated systems that need near 100% reliability, if not 100% reliability, and that's why we partnered with Palantir," Goldstein told BI.

He said he used ChatGPT daily: "I think it's a great way to do research and to view the world, and I only expect that to continue."

Archer is one of the premier players in advanced air mobility, which is regarded as the next generation of aircraft.

Its aircraft, Midnight, is electric and can take off and land vertically — called an eVTOL for short, or a "flying taxi."

The goal is to transform commutes in cities. For example, Archer says it would take 9 minutes to travel between Newark Liberty International Airport and downtown Manhattan, instead of the roughly hourlong journeys by car or public transit.

United Airlines has placed an order worth up to $1.5 billion, and Archer last month announced it was chosen as the official air taxi partner of the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics.

Also in Paris on Tuesday, Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy announced an alliance to streamline the certification of eVTOLs, including the UK, Canada, Australia, and New Zealand.

Archer plans to deploy its first Midnight aircraft in the United Arab Emirates later this year.

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The deadly 787 Dreamliner crash came at a testing time for Boeing and Air India

A view of the site after a plane crashed following takeoff from Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel International Airport in India's western state of Gujarat on June 12, 2025.
Air India Flight 171 crashed into a medical college in Ahmedabad.

Stringer/Anadolu via Getty Images

  • An Air India Boeing 787 crashed less than a minute after takeoff on Thursday.
  • The crash comes as both Boeing and Air India are trying to turn themselves around.
  • Attorneys and aviation experts said no conclusions could be drawn until the investigation ended.

Thursday's fatal crash of an Air India Boeing 787 shortly after takeoff comes as both the airline and Boeing try to revive their public images.

After 2024 became an annus horribilis for Boeing, 2025 is crucial for the planemaker to show it is successfully overhauling its processes.

CEO Kelly Ortberg, who took over last year and has made the turnaround the centerpiece of his leadership, has scrapped plans to travel to next week's Paris Air Show, CNBC and Bloomberg reported. The event is a crucial industry showcase. Neither Boeing nor Air India responded to requests for comment from Business Insider.

On Thursday, Ortberg shared the company's "deepest condolences" to everyone affected and said a team stood ready to support the investigation.

After visiting the crash site Friday morning, Air India CEO Campbell Wilson said in a video statement, "We know that the investigations will take time but we will be fully transparent and will support the process for as long as it takes."

"Air India will continue to do everything we can to care for those affected by this tragedy, and to uphold the trust placed in us," he added.

'The crash derails Boeing stock's positive momentum'

When an Alaska Airlines 737 Max lost a door plug during a January 2024 flight, regulators capped Boeing's production of the type. A seven-week strike then shut down key facilities, further hurting revenue.

Boeing ended 2024 as the Dow Jones' biggest loser, as its share price fell 31%. Investors had been reassured by Ortberg's work to turn the company around, and the stock had risen more than 20% in 2025 before the crash.

It dropped about 4% after Thursday's crash and fell more than 3% Friday morning.

Morgan Stanley analysts said Thursday that the crash "derails the positive momentum on Boeing's stock."

Jeff Windau, a senior industrials analyst for Edward Jones, said in a research note that he expects near-term volatility and raised the possibility of enhanced scrutiny on Boeing's processes.

"However, at this time, we do not feel there will be a long-term impact to production," he added.

Air India has been working to turn itself around

Following decades of state ownership and huge losses, Air India was acquired by the Tata Group in 2022. The airline has expanded with hundreds of additional flights, flying 60 million customers to 103 destinations through 2024.

The new owners invested billions, and the airline has ordered hundreds of planes to replace its aging fleet.

In a December interview with BI, Wilson compared his work revitalising Air India to "drinking from a firehose."

He added that he thought the turnaround was close to completion, but said there were supply-chain constraints. "Until we upgrade the aircraft, then people won't believe that the transformation has happened," Wilson said.

Alan Tan, an aviation law professor at the National University of Singapore, told BI that Air India in particular would have an immediate hit to customer perception.

"But as other leading airlines facing crises have shown, these are not insurmountable," he added. "Transparency and accountability in investigations, and consistent messaging to the public, will hopefully reduce the risks of a media spectacle."

A lengthy investigation

It will take a thorough and lengthy investigation before there are answers about what caused the crash.

Attorneys who have battled Boeing in the courts were among the people BI spoke to who were hesitant to draw any conclusions.

"The fact that this tragedy involves a Boeing aircraft does not necessarily mean that there's something wrong with the actual aircraft — as distinguished from issues surrounding maintenance, or even products that are not Boeing's, such as the engines," said Robert Clifford, lead counsel for the families of victims of the 2019 Ethiopian Airlines crash, in which a 737 Max crashed shortly after takeoff, killing more than 150 people.

He added that a quick and efficient investigation is necessary to "help calm the public."

Thursday's incident was the first fatal crash and total hull loss of a Boeing 787 Dreamliner, one of the most advanced passenger jets, which entered service in 2011.

The model has faced some criticism from whistleblowers. Last year, Sam Salehpour, a quality engineer at Boeing, told NBC he observed "shortcuts to reduce bottlenecks" in manufacturing 787s. Boeing responded that it was "fully confident in the 787 Dreamliner."

On Thursday, Salehpour's attorneys urged the Federal Aviation Administration to release a report investigating his claims.

Richard Aboulafia, managing director at Aerodynamic Advisory, told BI, "It's a terrible tragedy, but I just don't see how this impacts anything [for Boeing]."

"Unless it's the unlikely event that they do find a design or manufacturing flaw, but after all these years, both for this type of aircraft and this particular aircraft, that's not normal," he added.

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Transatlantic passengers heading for Miami had a 4-hour flight to nowhere, ending up back in Zurich

A Swiss International Airlines Airbus A340 lands at London Heathrow Airport on 28th October 2020
A Swiss International Airlines Airbus A340.

Robert Smith/MI News/NurPhoto via Getty Images

  • A Swiss International Airlines flight to Miami landed back in Zurich after a four-hour journey.
  • The Airbus A340 had "an irregularity with an engine," the airline said.
  • The flight changed directions a couple of times over the ocean before circling Zurich for an hour.

Passengers expecting to travel transatlantic ended up on a four-hour flight-to-nowhere.

Swiss International Airlines Flight 64 on Monday was supposed to be a 10-hour journey from Zurich to Miami.

Passengers were already in for some disruption as it departed around an hour later than scheduled, per data from Flightradar24.

Things went smoothly until an hour and a half into the journey, when the Airbus A340 started to turn around.

The plane had not long started flying over the Atlantic Ocean before deciding to head back.

It appeared to be going toward Switzerland, then turned toward Spain, before returning to its original path.

After three hours in the air, the A340 was back in Swiss airspace. However, it then had to circle around Zurich a few times before it could land.

An airline spokesperson told Business Insider that the plane returned due to "an irregularity with an engine."

The four-engined plane involved in the incident, HB-JMH, is 21 years old.

"As a precautionary measure, the crew decided to return to the home airport in Zurich, where we have the best maintenance facilities," they added.

This is often the case in so-called flights to nowhere, where returning to a hub airport also makes it easier to re-route passengers. Those on the Swiss flight were rebooked on the fastest possible alternatives.

"We regret the inconvenience caused to our passengers," the airline spokesperson said.

Similar incidents have seen flights as long as 10 hours before returning to their original take-off point.

For example, last November, a British Airways flight U-turned when it was halfway across the Atlantic.

And after a plane crash at Toronto Airport in February, two transatlantic flights to nowhere were among dozens of planes that diverted.

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Boeing was the real winner of Donald Trump's trip to the Middle East

U.S. President Donald Trump, Qatar's Emir Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani and Boeing CEO Kelly Ortberg attend a signing ceremony in Doha, Qatar, May 14, 2025
Donald Trump congratulated Boeing's CEO after signing a record-breaking order in Qatar.

Brian Snyder/REUTERS

  • Boeing secured a record-breaking $96 billion order from Qatar Airways during Donald Trump's trip.
  • It was one of several wins this week, showing the planemaker is recovering from a troubling 2024.
  • Trump's support came after tensions over Air Force One delays and concerns over a Qatari gift.

Boeing showed it's bouncing back from its turmoil as it won several victories from Donald Trump's trip to the Middle East.

On Wednesday, Qatar Airways agreed to buy at least 160 Boeing jets, in a deal the White House valued at $96 billion. It is the planemaker's largest-ever order for wide-body aircraft.

While the two CEOs signed certificates and shook hands, Trump and the Emir of Qatar applauded from behind the ornate desk. The president gave Boeing's Kelly Ortberg a pat on the back.

It's rare to see heads of state attend aircraft-order ceremonies. Trump's show of support for Boeing was a notable turn from the tensions between the two over delays in building the next Air Force One.

Receiving such a huge vote of confidence from an industry-leading airline is also a significant boost, especially since the order includes 30 Boeing 777X planes and options for dozens more.

The 777X is yet to be certified, running years behind schedule, meaning Qatar's order is a big show of faith in Boeing's future. Flight tests for the 777X had to be paused last August after damage was found on a key structure.

An aerial view of a Boeing 777X airplane parked at King County International Airport-Boeing Field in Seattle, Washington, U.S, June 1, 2022.
Delays to the 777X have annoyed many customers — but not Qatar Airways.

LINDSEY WASSON/REUTERS

Several customers, including the largest, Emirates, voiced their frustrations after Ortberg then announced its launch would be further pushed back to 2026.

However, Qatar Airways has never dwelt on the delays. "Let us not cry over spilled milk," CEO Badr Mohammed Al-Meer told Business Insider last July.

Boeing is also likely to benefit from Tuesday's defense deal with Saudi Arabia, which the White House called "the largest defense-sales agreement in history," at roughly $142 billion.

These are all significant signs that the planemaker hasn't lost too much of its reputation after an ignominious 2024.

The year began with a door plug falling off a 737 Max in midair. Regulators subsequently capped Boeing's production as it works to overhaul its processes.

This week has seen progress here, too, as Boeing said it delivered 45 commercial planes last month — almost double the number in the same period last year.

Trump's change of heart

Even before Qatar Airways' order, planes were dominating the headlines around Trump's trip.

The president said Monday he would be "stupid" to turn down the Qatari royal family's proposed gift of a Boeing 747.

It has raised ethical and legal concerns, with politicians on both sides of the aisle questioning the gift. The luxurious $400 million plane would be one of the most expensive gifts ever received by the government from another country.

The timing may also raise questions about Qatar's motivation for announcing the mammoth Boeing order during Trump's visit, rather than at next month's Paris Air Show.

Donald Trump raising a saber to cut a cake with a model of the new Air Force One plane on it. Melania Trump laughs as she watches on. Two members of the military stand behind them.
Donald Trump cut a cake adorned with the next Air Force One at his inaugural ball.

PATRICK T. FALLON/AFP via Getty Images

Trump wants the 747 to serve as Air Force One because Boeing is running years behind schedule in building the next presidential jet. He renegotiated the contract in his first term, and the planemaker has since lost billions on the project.

In February, Trump showed his frustration with the delays by touring a Qatari Boeing 747 in Palm Beach — believed to be the one now on offer.

So, his support for Boeing in Qatar shows a change of heart that will likely please the planemaker and help settle any apprehension over Air Force One.

The country's top exporter, Boeing, was also under threat from Trump's tariff plans.

Jets destined for Chinese airlines had to be sent back across the Pacific Ocean after they refused to accept them due to the trade war. On Monday, China and the US agreed to lower tariffs by 115%.

But overall, that may not be as valuable as the reputation boost provided during Trump's trip.

This week has helped the storied planemaker prove that it's moving on from the woes of 2024.

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