Warren Probes Meta, Microsoft, Target, Companies on Mass Layoffs Despite Strong Financials and Trump Tax Handouts

Warren Probes Meta, Microsoft, Target, Companies on Mass Layoffs Despite Strong Financials and Trump Tax Handouts

Text of Letter (PDF)

Washington, D.C. - U.S. Senator Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) wrote to the CEOs of Amazon, Home Depot, Meta, Microsoft, Nike, Target, UPS, and Verizon, slamming them for their recent mass layoffs despite having strong earnings and financial positions. In particular, these corporations have benefitted from massive tax cuts and other Trump administration policies but have not passed those benefits on to their workers.

"The sequence of events regarding these layoffs - which come after your company enjoyed huge tax breaks from President Trump's tax law and earned massive profits last year - raises questions about the rationale for the job cuts, and whether they represent another example of unchecked corporate greed emboldened by the Trump Administration," wrote Senator Warren to Amazon, one of the eight companies included in the inquiry.

Giant corporations are making record profits under the Trump administration, receiving handouts that include massive tax breaks from Trump's "One Big Beautiful Bill," broad deregulation, and the advancement of Big Tech's digital trade agenda. Additionally, in the wake of the Supreme Court's IEEPA ruling, many large corporations stand to rake in huge windfalls if they collect tariff refunds for costs they passed on to consumers and small businesses. Last year, the Fortune 500 reported that average earnings were 9% higher than the previous year.

Despite all this, some of these large corporations have announced devastating layoffs, cutting their workforce instead of using their surplus to invest in their own workers.

For example, Amazon announced plans to lay off approximately 16,000 workers, in addition to 14,000 workers it laid off in the fall. At the same time, Amazon had a 44.5% increase in profits in 2025 and an 87% tax cut thanks to President Trump and Republicans in Congress.

Similarly, Microsoft announced that it would lay off approximately 15,000 workers, with rumors of more to come. At the same time, Microsoft's net income in 2025 was over $101 billion, a 16% increase from the previous year, and thanks to President Trump and Republicans in Congress, Microsoft was anticipated to receive a $12.5 billion tax cut in 2025.

Additionally, the senator points out that while layoffs are always bad for the workers affected, now is a particularly painful time to be laid off. After President Trump took office, job growth slowed to a crawl. This means that newly laid-off workers could be forced to take lower paying jobs-if they are able to find employment at all. This situation is only getting worse: new data show a "sharp decline in monthly jobs growth" in February, while downward revisions for December and January offer "another warning sign."

Given this series of events, Senator Warren is pressing these massive companies on their rationale for layoffs in the context of the large swath of benefits these companies have received under the Trump administration.

Senator Warren is demanding answers from these companies by March 30, 2026.

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