1
: a period of inactivity or idleness
2
: the act of laying off an employee or a workforce
also
: shutdown
laid off; laying off; lays off
1
: to mark or measure off
2
: to cease to employ (a worker) often temporarily
3
of a bookie
: to place all or part of (an accepted bet) with another bookie to reduce the risk
1
: to stop doing or taking something
2
: to leave one alone
wish you'd just lay off
Synonyms
Examples of layoff in a Sentence
Noun
The company announced the layoff of several hundred employees.
More layoffs are expected at the factory later this year.
The band finally has a new album after a three year layoff.
a layoff of three years
Verb
you need to lay off eating those jelly doughnuts, or you'll end up looking like one
Recent Examples on the Web
Roxane Gay, New York Times, 28 Apr. 2024
Tesla last week issued sweeping layoffs that may have affected as many as 20,000 workers and saw two of its executives resign.
—William Gavin, Quartz, 26 Apr. 2024
Just in April, Tesla has announced its first drop in sales since 2020, recalled one line of vehicles and reportedly canceled plans for another, and begun mass layoffs.
—Matteo Wong, The Atlantic, 24 Apr. 2024
But at least right now, the electric vehicle market is facing some trouble, as seen in Tesla’s recent layoffs, per my L.A. Times colleague Russ Mitchell.
—Sammy Roth, Los Angeles Times, 23 Apr. 2024
Some employees affected by the layoff have already been locked out of system access, according to Electrek.
—Emily Deletter, USA TODAY, 23 Apr. 2024
Ek didn’t elaborate on what aspects of operations were most affected by the layoffs.
—Byryan Hogg, Fortune Europe, 23 Apr. 2024
Bloomberg has reported that the figure could be closer to 20% in some divisions, potentially pushing the total number of layoffs beyond 20,000.
—Edward Ludlow, Fortune, 22 Apr. 2024
Critics of the layoffs said they were blindsided by the news and that Hartzell has not answered their many questions.
—Char Adams, NBC News, 18 Apr. 2024
Jay Nordlinger, National Review, 22 Apr. 2024
Nike plans to lay off 740 employees at its Oregon headquarters before June 28, the company has told state officials.
—Mike Snider, USA TODAY, 20 Apr. 2024
The company also laid off 13% of its workforce in January, totaling some 1,650 staff.
—Chris Morris, Fortune, 19 Apr. 2024
Read Article > Feb 8, 2023 Disney’s laying off 7,000 as streaming boom comes to an end
Illustration by Alex Castro / The Verge
Disney is planning to lay off 7,000 workers to cut costs across the company.
—The Verge, 18 Apr. 2024
According to a Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification Act (WARN) filing in New York, 280 employees have been laid off at Tesla’s facility in Buffalo.
—William Gavin, Quartz, 18 Apr. 2024
Editor-in-chief Javier Cabral said they would be laid off if the publication isn’t able to hit 5,000 members by the end of April.
—Gustavo Arellano, Los Angeles Times, 16 Apr. 2024
Tesla plans to lay off more than 10 percent of its work force in an effort to cut costs, Elon Musk, the automaker’s chief executive, told employees on Monday.
—Jason Karaian, New York Times, 15 Apr. 2024
Some associate or assistant deans previously focused on DEI, Hartzell said, will return to full-time faculty positions, and those that were laid off can apply to existing openings.
—Dan Rosenzweig-Ziff, Washington Post, 3 Apr. 2024
Noun
Just this year, there have been mass layoffs at several companies and news organizations, and too few new jobs are being created to absorb so many job seekers.
—Roxane Gay, New York Times, 28 Apr. 2024
Tesla last week issued sweeping layoffs that may have affected as many as 20,000 workers and saw two of its executives resign.
—William Gavin, Quartz, 26 Apr. 2024
Just in April, Tesla has announced its first drop in sales since 2020, recalled one line of vehicles and reportedly canceled plans for another, and begun mass layoffs.
—Matteo Wong, The Atlantic, 24 Apr. 2024
But at least right now, the electric vehicle market is facing some trouble, as seen in Tesla’s recent layoffs, per my L.A. Times colleague Russ Mitchell.
—Sammy Roth, Los Angeles Times, 23 Apr. 2024
Some employees affected by the layoff have already been locked out of system access, according to Electrek.
—Emily Deletter, USA TODAY, 23 Apr. 2024
Ek didn’t elaborate on what aspects of operations were most affected by the layoffs.
—Byryan Hogg, Fortune Europe, 23 Apr. 2024
Bloomberg has reported that the figure could be closer to 20% in some divisions, potentially pushing the total number of layoffs beyond 20,000.
—Edward Ludlow, Fortune, 22 Apr. 2024
Critics of the layoffs said they were blindsided by the news and that Hartzell has not answered their many questions.
—Char Adams, NBC News, 18 Apr. 2024
Verb
In 1932, three years into the Depression, he was laid off.
—Jay Nordlinger, National Review, 22 Apr. 2024
Nike plans to lay off 740 employees at its Oregon headquarters before June 28, the company has told state officials.
—Mike Snider, USA TODAY, 20 Apr. 2024
The company also laid off 13% of its workforce in January, totaling some 1,650 staff.
—Chris Morris, Fortune, 19 Apr. 2024
Read Article > Feb 8, 2023 Disney’s laying off 7,000 as streaming boom comes to an end
Illustration by Alex Castro / The Verge
Disney is planning to lay off 7,000 workers to cut costs across the company.
—The Verge, 18 Apr. 2024
According to a Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification Act (WARN) filing in New York, 280 employees have been laid off at Tesla’s facility in Buffalo.
—William Gavin, Quartz, 18 Apr. 2024
Editor-in-chief Javier Cabral said they would be laid off if the publication isn’t able to hit 5,000 members by the end of April.
—Gustavo Arellano, Los Angeles Times, 16 Apr. 2024
Tesla plans to lay off more than 10 percent of its work force in an effort to cut costs, Elon Musk, the automaker’s chief executive, told employees on Monday.
—Jason Karaian, New York Times, 15 Apr. 2024
Some associate or assistant deans previously focused on DEI, Hartzell said, will return to full-time faculty positions, and those that were laid off can apply to existing openings.
—Dan Rosenzweig-Ziff, Washington Post, 3 Apr. 2024
These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'layoff.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.
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Cite this Entry
“Layoff.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/layoff. Accessed 2 May. 2024.
Copy CitationKids Definition
layoff
1 of 2 noun
lay·off
ˈlā-ˌȯf 
1
: the act of laying off an employee or a work force
2
: a period during which there is no activity
lay off
2 of 2 verb(ˈ)lā-ˈȯf
1
: to mark or measure off
2
: to stop employing (a person) often temporarily
lay off workers
3
: to stop doing or taking something
lay off of that stuff
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