2 More Companies Announce Layoffs

Two more big companies announced layoffs on Friday:

• MGM Resorts will lay off 18,000 people as the casino industry struggles to recover. That represents about a quarter of the company's American workforce of 68,000 before the pandemic took hold, reports the Wall Street Journal.
• Coca-Cola said it was offering buyouts to 4,000 employees ahead of pending layoffs, per the AP. Half of Coca-Cola’s sales come from stadiums, movie theaters, and other places where people gather in large numbers—venues that have been closed during the coronavirus pandemic. Revenue tumbled 28% in the Atlanta company’s most recent quarter.
• Earlier this week: United and American airlines, beset by plunging air travel, cut thousands of jobs this week. Tech company Salesforce is cutting 1,000 jobs and Bed Bath & Beyond cut 2,800 positions.
• Big picture: All of the above represents only a fraction of the damage across the US economy. The Labor Department reported Thursday that another 1 million Americans applied for unemployment benefits. More than 14.5 million are collecting traditional jobless benefits—up from 1.7 million a year ago.