People On Social Media Are Noticing A Concerning Pattern In Who’s Getting Laid Off Right Now
Luis Pereira | Unsplash A woman named YaYa noticed a very specific trend across TikTok regarding people being laid off. She shared her concerning observation about the type of people getting laid off from their jobs.
“I’m starting to see more videos of people getting laid off, and I noticed two things,” YaYa said. “People of color (POC) and women.” She continued, asking, “I wonder how many people who are getting laid off are people of color and women versus how many people who are staying on their jobs are white men.”
People are noticing a concerning pattern in who’s getting laid off right now: women and people of color
“I’m not saying white men are not getting laid off,” she added. “But I wonder who’s staying with these companies.”
YaYa brought up a significant event as a possible reason behind this concerning trend, noting, “Now that they have removed affirmative action, I wonder…”
“I see people of color, and I see women. Maybe they’re just the only ones posting,” she considered. “But I’m just saying."
The people in the comments section agreed with YaYa’s perspective
As one person noted, “As soon as the Supreme Court ruled against the DEI, companies started letting us go, especially in top positions.”
“All women and POC,” another user commented. “My org laid off ‘redundant’ roles, but for some reason, literally all the middle-aged white men were safe.”
Another person posed a significant question, asking, “Hasn’t it always been that way, though?”
An actor named Lisa Beasley stitched YaYa's video and shared a satirical take on the issue of corporate diversity and layoffs, embodying the role of a character called “Corporate Erin.”
Beasley imitated a woman in an HR role in a TikTok post titled, “Corporate Erin Explains White Diversity.” She spoke of the different countries various white people on the imaginary corporate team were from, including Germany, Australia, and Ireland.
Her astute humor captured a reality of the modern workplace: most higher-up positions in companies are still held by white men.
In fact, according to a USA TODAY analysis of named executive officers at S&P 100 companies, 70% are white men. Just 17% are women, and only 3% are women of color.
Since women and POC are already in the minority, they are put further at risk when it comes to layoffs. According to data from Forbes, through the first nine months of 2023, there have been around 605,500 announced layoffs, which is an increase of 198% from last year. And these numbers have only climbed.
Through October 2025, an executive outplacement firm reported that more than 1 million U.S. workers were being laid off. This is a 65% increase from 2024 and the highest total layoffs reported since 2020.
The outlet reported that tech employees have been hardest hit by the waves of layoffs, as about 152,000 layoffs in the industry were announced, up 716% from the same time last year. Two other industries that have felt the effects of layoffs are retail and healthcare, as the retail industry has had 71,000 job losses and healthcare has lost 53,000 jobs.
Forbes also reported the sheer number of layoffs from major companies over the past year, such as Amazon, Pfizer, Google, and Citigroup, along with a slew of other companies.
What both YaYa’s post and Lisa Beasley’s hilarious response highlight is that people are losing their jobs and layoffs are definitely happening, and they appear to affect some demographics of people more than others.
The Institute for Women's Policy Research supports this, finding that Black women lost an average of 113K jobs in 2025. That's about 55% of total female job losses, with Black women only making up 14% of the female workforce.
Alexandra Blogier is a writer on YourTango's news and entertainment team. She covers issues in the workplace, pop culture analysis, and all things to do with the entertainment industry.
