Factory Fallout: Manufacturing layoffs from Novo Nordisk, Ford, Applied Materials, and more

With the government shutdown approaching record length and Halloween coming up, it’s an unfortunate time of the year to be out of a job. But that hasn’t stopped a number of manufacturers, including some big-name tech and auto companies, from making new announcements on layoffs to come.

Novo Nordisk laid off “dozens” of workers in early October, according to analysis from Reuters. The manufacturer of the Wegovy diabetes and obesity drug plans to cut 9,000 total employees from its ranks, its CEO announced in September. According to Reuters, the company cut quality control and production line technicians and other manufacturing roles at its Clayton, North Carolina factory and others in the state.

Ford Motors will temporarily lay off truck manufacturing workers at its Claycomo, Missouri plant, according to local news KCTV. A Facebook post from United Auto Workers Local 249 representing the plant said employees there who work on F-150 assembly would be on layoff for the week of October 27, with shifts restarting the following Monday, November 3. The move comes as Ford is dealing with the fallout from a massive fire at Novelis, its aluminum supplier.

Nichiha USA, according to local news WMAZ 13, will close a building materials plant in Macon, Georgia. A Nichiha USA spokesperson told WMAZ that about 130 workers would be affected. The Macon site has two plants, one dedicated to residential business and a second for commercial structures: According to local news site WGXA News, the closure affects the first site, but not the second. In statements to local news, Nichiha CEO Takayuki Okada said the cuts were necessary for long-term growth, but that the company “remains committed to being a responsible corporate citizen in Macon-Bibb County for many years to come.”

Wausau Equipment Company will close its New Berlin, Wisconsin factory permanently effective December 7, according to local newspaper The Waukesha County Freeman. In a WARN notice filed with the state, the snow-removal and ice-control company said it would let all 67 employees at the Milwaukee-area plant go. The company retains its other manufacturing plant in Fond du Lac, Wisconsin, about 60 miles away.

Applied Materials said October 23 it would lay off 1,400 of its workers, mostly in the last quarter of 2025, according to Reuters. The cuts come as the semiconductor manufacturing equipment company reckons with policies passed late September that restrict exporting chipmaking equipment to China. The company said earlier October those policies would likely cost its 2026 revenue an estimated $600 million.