Workers Say Quiet Firing Is Everywhere As 73% Report Being Pushed Out In 2025

Layoffs are unfortunately a defining feature of the 2025 workplace, and for many employees, the experience is abrupt, isolating, and largely invisible. According to Zety’s Layoff Lifeline Report, job cuts often arrive without warning and with little human interaction. 

Workers described being dismissed through email in 29% of cases and over the phone in 28%, while only 30% were told face-to-face. For 21%, the news came as a complete shock, and only 36% felt they saw it coming clearly, leaving 43% who sensed something was wrong but weren’t sure. 

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Technology shifts continue to change work at speed, with 32% saying their job loss was directly tied to automation or tech-related changes.

The lack of transparency is slowing recovery. Employees who never saw their layoffs coming report a harder emotional and financial rebound, compounded by the sense that employers are becoming less accountable and more distant.

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Quiet Firing Makes Workers Feel Expendable

Beyond formal layoffs, another trend is reshaping worker sentiment: quiet firing. In a survey of 1,000 U.S. employees, 73% said they had experienced indirect tactics meant to push them out. 

The most common patterns included heavier workloads without support and increased micromanagement, and 70% said they believed return-to-office mandates were being used as a tool to nudge people out. 

Another 30% felt they were training their own replacement while being eased out of their role.

These slow-burn dismissals often hit as hard as traditional layoffs, gradually eroding confidence, performance, and trust long before an employee makes the decision to leave.

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Post-Layoff Recovery Stalls as Job Searches Drag On

Even after landing a new job, the anxiety doesn’t end. Zety’s Post-Layoff Recovery Report shows that job hunting has become a grueling, months-long process. 53% of laid-off workers submitted more than 50 applications before finding a new role, and 1 in 5 had to send out over 100. 

Finding stable employment often took a very long time: 26% secured a new job within four to six months, 7% needed seven to twelve months, and 5% were still unemployed more than a year later.

The instability follows workers into their next role. 62% said they were very concerned that a potential recession could put their new job at risk, underscoring a workforce still shaken, even after reemployment.

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