A slew of major companies announcing large-scale layoffs serves as a warning that the U.S. labor market, which has been in a prolonged-but-precarious balance, could be starting to tip over.

The big picture: Corporate psychology looks to be shifting, as the worker shortages of 2021 fade into memory and AI advances hold the promise of doing more with less. • With sluggish hiring, it wouldn't take much in terms of new layoffs to turn what has been a steady labor market into something considerably worse. • A wave of them arrived this week.

Driving the news: Amazon said this week it is laying off 14,000 corporate employees. UPS said it has cut 48,000 jobs through buyouts and layoffs. Paramount Skydance announced 1,000 layoffs in what was characterized only as a first round of cuts.

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