AI is replacing regular workers, and U.S. companies are accelerating layoffs: By 2025, the total number of employees at S&P 500 companies will decrease by 400,000, dropping to 28.1 million—the first annual decline since 2016. Previously, S&P 500 companies had achieved 8 consecutive years of job growth, adding over 3 million positions in total. This downturn is primarily driven by America, Oracle (ORCL), Amazon (AMZN), Meta (META), Intel (INTC), and Microsoft (MSFT). Major companies are racing to cut costs and shift spending toward AI. By 2026, the wave of layoffs will continue. Amazon (AMZN) plans to cut around 16,000 corporate positions, Meta (META) will reduce approximately 8,000 jobs, and Microsoft (MSFT) will offer voluntary exit packages to about 8,750 employees. U.S. companies are eliminating jobs at an increasingly rapid pace.