What to do after a sudden job loss

Fintech company Block announced Thursday it was laying off about half its workforce, adding more than 4,000 workers to the unemployment ranks overnight.

When a significant share of a company’s workers face a sudden job loss, that can trigger a number of unique financial and career challenges, experts say.

With mass layoffs, “you really are in a very ‘Hunger Games’-like competition against a lot of people to get the very few jobs that are available,” said career coach Tessa White, founder of The Job Doctor.

Data suggest the number of layoffs is on the rise: Layoff announcements among U.S. employers in January were the highest to start a year since 2009, according to outplacement firm Challenger, Gray & Christmas.

“Generally, we see a high number of job cuts in the first quarter, but this is a high total for January. It means most of these plans were set at the end of 2025, signaling employers are less-than-optimistic about the outlook for 2026,” Andy Challenger, workplace expert and chief revenue officer for Challenger, Gray & Christmas, said in a statement.

Other companies, including Amazon, Pinterest, CrowdStrike and Chegg, have also recently announced significant job cuts.

Jack Dorsey, Block’s CEO, wrote in a letter to shareholders that automation of certain roles driven by artificial intelligence could lead to more cuts across the industry. It’s a force he cited as contributing to his company’s layoffs.

“Within the next year, I believe the majority of companies will reach the same conclusion and make similar structural changes,” Dorsey said.

For workers caught in the crosshairs, “there could be a sense of grief, shock, loss — those emotions are normal and part of the layoff process, unfortunately,” said Monster career expert Vicki Salemi.

Still, before signing on the dotted line, there are a few key steps workers need to take, she said: “You should always try to negotiate the terms.”

Trying to negotiate a continuation of employer health care coverage is perhaps the “best thing” to try to fight for before an exit, according to Elaine Farndale, director of the School of Labor and Employment Relations at The Pennsylvania State University.

Your benefits, most notably health care, could end on the last day of employment or shortly after. Once your coverage lapses, you may be able to stay on the company plan under COBRA, the Consolidated Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act.

Negotiating can be more challenging with a mass layoff, with so many people trying to do so at the same time. But experts say the power of numbers can work in your favor.

Farndale suggests doing this collectively, so there’s a “groundswell” of workers asking for the same thing, and perhaps highlighting the potential reputational damage to the employer for not treating workers well during a mass layoff.

Workers with equity grants can also try to negotiate their vesting schedule, White said. You might ask the company to accelerate vesting of any unvested shares, for example.

To “maximize your paycheck” as you prepare for the loss of income, you can also ask before your last check goes out to change your tax deductions to have fewer taxes withdrawn and to stop your 401k deduction, she said.

Your former employer may also provide outplacement services to help with resume reviews, mock interviews and other job resources.

That can be an especially valuable benefit, experts say, since workers who are fired during mass layoffs may face bigger challenges finding a new role than those who are let go in smaller-scale job cuts.

And, with the hiring rate at its lowest in more than a decade, it may be especially difficult for workers to bounce back. Unlike previous years, there are now more available workers than openings.

On the flip side, there may be less competition for available jobs in the broader labor pool, as fewer workers choose to leave their jobs — a trend referred to as the “big stay.”

In interviews and on your resume, it helps to “have a future focus rather than a backwards focus” to emphasize the skills you’d bring to a new role rather than dwell on your layoff, White said.

To stand out among other job seekers — including former teammates and colleagues with similar experience — she recommends putting at the bottom of your resume two to three short quotes of recommendations or praise people have given you.

“It may actually help to facilitate you getting an interview as opposed to waiting until the very end of the process,” White said, noting that references are typically only checked for final candidates. “Your resume isn’t just telling people what you know how to do, it’s trying to make them believe that you know how to do those things.”

Laura Ullrich, director of economic research at the career site Indeed, recommended that job seekers widen their application net in the current market.

For example, if you’re an accountant at a tech company, it may not be easy to land a similar accounting gig in tech, a sector that has been shedding relatively more jobs than others, she said. However, perhaps you can use those skills in a sector that has been hiring, such as health care or leisure and hospitality, she said.

“In the labor market of 2026, you have to think more holistically about how your skills apply across a broad array of sectors,” Ullrich said.