Are Top Companies Done Hiring? 2026 Job Crisis

12 Jan 2026 · 1 min

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This content was created by Eric Siu. This content was uploaded by Eric Siu. This is a YouTube video titled "Are Top Companies Done Hiring? 2026 Job Crisis" (created 2026-01-12) containing an English commentary/analysis about hiring trends in 2026. A single on-screen speaker (labeled SPEAKER A) reviews labor-market data and company responses — noting many large firms (e.g., Shopify, Chime) keeping headcounts flat, a survey finding that 66% of leaders plan to either cut or maintain staff, a reported jump in unemployment, and unusually low voluntary attrition at IBM (under 2%). The speaker suggests firms may prefer investing in capital and AI-driven efficiencies over new hires.

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Why companies are not hiring in 2026, more specifically big companies. Have you seen this trend? I have not seen that trend. So you got Shopify, Chime Financial, they're vowing to keep the size of their employee bases roughly flat. Uh, 66% of leaders surveyed said they plan to either fire workers or maintain the size of their existing teams, and only a third said they plan to hire. So you're seeing a lot of wait and see. Some of the looming uncertainty will mean that we're going to see an investment in capital over people. So unemployment rose 44.6% in November. It's the highest in 4 years. While the US added jobs in healthcare and education, IBM employees are leaving the technology giant at the lowest rate in 30 years. 30 years, dude. And so he's basically saying, the CEO, Arvind, of IBM, voluntary attrition at IBM is under 2%, which is amazing, okay? A decline from the typical 7%. So people are looking to stay put right now. And then at the same time, big companies, they're looking to see what type of efficiencies they're going to gain from AI, I think, in 2026.