Microsoft and KPMG Among Firms Cutting Jobs as 5,550 Workers Impacted in Mid‑July Round

Microsoft Corporation and KPMG were among notable employers announcing workforce reductions during July 13–14, 2026, in a compact but wide‑ranging round of layoffs that affected 5,550 workers across 14 separate actions. The activity spanned technology, finance, consumer goods, healthcare and local manufacturing and services — from multinational firms to smaller employers filing WARN notices with state regulators.

Overview and key figures

• Total layoff actions reported: 14
• Total employees affected: 5,550
• Sectors with the biggest impacts: Information Technology (3,700 employees), Consumer Staples (450), Financials (200), and a collection of smaller local employers accounting for the remainder.

Notable companies and reporting

• Microsoft Corporation: The largest single contributor to the period’s totals was Microsoft Corporation, which accounted for a significant portion of the Information Technology cuts. Reports on the reductions came via Yahoo Finance, Tech Times and levelup.com, which provided company announcements and context for the tech restructuring.

• KPMG: In the Financials sector, KPMG announced cuts affecting 200 staff, with coverage and commentary appearing in City AM, BW People and Storyboard18.

• Thomson Reuters: Also in Information Technology, Thomson Reuters undertook workforce changes reported by Seeking Alpha and separately covered by Reuters and U.S. News - Money. Those reports detailed part of the sectorwide pullback.

• Merck: In Health Care, Merck notified a reduction affecting 70 employees, as reported by Fierce Biotech.

• Kellogg: The Consumer Staples maker Kellogg announced a cut of 450 positions; local reporting included Nebraska Public Media and the Memphis Flyer, which noted impacts at specific sites.

Local employers and WARN filings

Several smaller employers filed WARN notices for plant‑ or site‑level actions, collectively representing significant community impacts:

• Eklind Tool Company filed a WARN notice for 112 affected employees in the saw blade and handtool manufacturing sector.
• Hawthorne Race Course filed to notify 290 layoffs tied to racetrack operations.
• Optum Services, Inc. submitted a WARN filing affecting 98 positions in the reinsurance/benefits services area.
• Republic National Distributing Company, LLC filed a WARN for 280 workers in beer and ale wholesaling.
• Saddle Creek Corporation gave notice of 78 affected staff at its warehousing and storage operation.
• Sunrise Transportation reported a WARN filing for 204 employees in school and employee transportation.
• Techmer PM, LLC dba Colors for Plastics, Inc. submitted a WARN for 68 employees in custom compounding of purchased resins.

Those WARN‑filed actions were reported to state regulators and form part of the national tally of layoffs for the period.

Other industrial actions

• Emerson Electric Co. registered a workforce action in the Industrials sector; the item was covered by Virginia Business. The filing did not list an immediate employee count in the aggregated dataset supplied, suggesting site‑specific adjustments or reassignments.

Trends and context

This mid‑July cluster reflects several continuing trends:

• Tech consolidation and cost‑management: The concentration of job reductions in Information Technology (about 3,700 roles across Microsoft Corporation, Thomson Reuters and related actions) underscores ongoing cost‑cutting and reorganization as major tech and information firms recalibrate investments after a period of rapid hiring.

• Mix of national and local impacts: While marquee names account for the largest totals, numerous WARN filings from smaller, regional employers show how local economies absorb the shock of layoffs in manufacturing, distribution and service sectors.

• Cross‑sector adjustments: Cuts in Consumer Staples (450 at Kellogg) and Financials (200 at KPMG) indicate that headcount discipline is not limited to tech, but is also visible in established consumer and professional services firms.

What to watch next

Market watchers and labor economists will be monitoring whether these actions presage a broader wave of selective hiring freezes or further reductions, especially in technology and professional services. Local officials in communities with WARN filings will likely focus on rapid deployment of worker assistance, retraining and placement services to mitigate short‑term unemployment spikes.

Methodology and sourcing

This summary aggregates company announcements and regulatory WARN filings reported between July 13 and July 14, 2026. Individual company reporting sources include Yahoo Finance, Tech Times, levelup.com (for Microsoft Corporation); Seeking Alpha, Reuters, U.S. News - Money (for Thomson Reuters); City AM, BW People, Storyboard18 (for KPMG); Fierce Biotech (for Merck); Nebraska Public Media, Memphis Flyer (for Kellogg); Virginia Business (for Emerson Electric Co.); and a series of WARN notices filed with state regulators for the smaller, local employers listed above.

Collectively, the actions between July 13–14 affected 5,550 employees across 14 reported layoff events, illustrating a mix of strategic corporate realignment at large firms and targeted closures or reductions at regional employers.