How companies are turning zero hiring and more incentives into a growth strategy
By Bruce Crumley | Published: 2025-11-03 11:30:00 | Source: Inc.com
The rate of job creation at U.S. companies has remained roughly flat since last spring, with most employers hiring only to replace departing employees, or leaving those jobs vacant. The bad news for people looking for work is that this… This trend may be gaining momentum, as many companies decide that they can continue to grow while maintaining or reducing their current headcount.
This thinking contradicts the conventional wisdom often cited to explain why employment rates have fallen to a paltry monthly average of 26,750 new jobs filled since May. Many analysts said the hesitation to hire was largely based on the uncertainties employers face about future economic growth. Other experts pointed to the still-evolving effects on businesses of import tariffs, mass deportations, and relatively high inflation.
Another reason cited is the widespread efforts by companies adopting AI to automate tasks previously performed by many employees. This move has led to thousands of layoffs, and AI has also completely taken over many of the entry-level jobs that young job seekers typically rely on.
But while all of these factors may account for the broader business community’s current aversion to hiring, other evidence suggests that some companies have made freezing or reducing their headcount indefinitely a central growth strategy.
“We are convinced that we need this Organized more agilelywith fewer layers and more ownership, to move as quickly as possible for our customers and our business,” Beth Galletti, Amazon’s senior vice president of people, experience and technology, wrote in a memo to employees on Tuesday announcing “an overall reduction in our company’s workforce of approximately 14,000 positions.”
Likewise, UPS said Tuesday it has already done so Abolition of 48 thousand jobs In 2025 alone in an attempt to improve productivity. Other companies have also adopted this tactic.
“by.” Reduce size “From our team, fewer conversations will be needed to make a decision, and each person will be more resilient and have greater scope and impact,” Alexander Wang, Meta’s chief AI officer, said in a memo obtained by Business Insider that last week announced 600 job cuts in the company’s Superintelligence Labs division.
“Proactively hold the line.”
Both Wang and Galletti noted that their deep cuts will be followed by job creation in the future, although the number of jobs will presumably be much lower. But recently Wall Street Journal The report provided evidence that the trend toward a continuing reduction in net employment levels is spreading across major U.S. companies.
The newspaper quoted a JPMorgan Chase executive remarking that the bank now has a “very strong bias against” spontaneously hiring people to meet needs it might otherwise meet. It also pointed to Goldman Sachs’ stated intention to “restrain headcount growth through the end of the year,” and Walmart’s similar goal of keeping total headcount flat.
In many of the cases examined, magazine He said the increasing use of artificial intelligence allows companies to continue to grow, innovate and serve customers with fewer employees than previously required.
“If people become more productive, you won’t need to hire more people,” Airbnb CEO Brian Chesky told the newspaper, saying he plans to keep headcount stable at about 7,000 employees over the next year. “I see a lot of companies proactively holding the line, anticipating, and hoping that they can get a smaller workforce.”
However, there are also signs that there may be other calculations in the current moves to freeze or reduce employment levels. This thinking may accommodate Wall Street investors’ usual approval of layoff announcements, as companies move to reduce their payrolls, increase efficiency and boost their bottom lines.
“Historically, if someone leaves, if Jane Doe leaves, I have to replace Jane,” said Sandeep Ujla, Intuit’s chief financial officer. magazine. To weaken this reflex, company managers have to make convincing arguments for replacing departing employees to gain approval, with new hires now being seen as a last resort, Al-Ajla said.
As a result, Al-Ajla said, layoffs and voluntary resignations encourage managers to ask: “Is there an opportunity for us to rethink how we hire?”
“Companies don’t want to hire.”
A similar thought process is now taking place in reverse across social media platforms. An increasing number of users are spreading their belief that even companies advertising job openings no longer have any intention of actually filling them.
Whether commentators attribute this to ongoing downsizing strategies, artificial intelligence as an opportunity to replace employees, or economic uncertainty that has led to a decline in hiring levels since May, many online posters now suspect that the entire recruiting and hiring process is broken, or even rigged.
“Companies don’t want to hire new employees,” she posted Jack Ripper333 On a Recent Reddit thread. “They want their current employees to (a) produce more and (b) do the work of any other employee who quits…” Companies would only hire new employees when they had to, and this meant that things got so bad that even the top companies had to finally admit that their existing employees couldn’t produce anymore.
Some editors who share this view also interpret the abundance of job openings intertwined with flat or shrinking hiring rates as reflecting an ulterior motive behind recruitment notices. One thread claimed that employers who advertise opportunities, or even interview candidates, are “them.” Prospectingnot employment
“I’ve seen firsthand that companies will prospect without actually hiring anyone,” the thread starter wrote. com. pastelpaintbrush. “They’ll post job listings, interview, and never hire. They just want to see what’s in the job pool.”
Another editor offered an alternative analysis that takes into account the increasing use of artificial intelligence to automate job application scanning and analysis.
“They want to extract data from our resumes and show their investors that they are ‘growing,’” he said. Troublemaker-Problem516. “Publishing job ads is a win-win situation. There is no intention to hire
While these claims may be too broad to apply to many companies that employ people, they reflect bleak public views about the health of the U.S. labor market. These bleak views are unlikely to improve after editors take a look magazineOur report cites non-hiring strategies adopted by business leaders, which seems to confirm their concerns.
(Tags for translation)Artificial Intelligence
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