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The gap between big and small companies in the U.S. economy has become impossible to ignore.
While the biggest players like Amazon and Nvidia are raking in billions and hitting new stock highs, small companies are cutting staff, reducing hours, and hoping they make it through the season without another bill they can’t afford.
Private companies with under 50 workers have slashed jobs every month for half a year, losing 120,000 jobs in November alone, according to ADP. Medium and large companies, on the other hand, are still hiring.
And profits are vanishing. The Bank of America Institute said small companies’ earnings are slightly down from last year. At the same time, net income for large companies in the S&P 500 jumped 12.9% in the third quarter, according to LSEG.
Small companies lay off workers and cut hours to survive
For some small businesses, holiday seasons used to mean big sales and bigger staffing needs. This year? Not even close. Sydney Rieckhoff, CEO of Almost Famous Popcorn in Cedar Rapids, Iowa, usually hires 10 to 15 seasonal workers.
This year, she hired four or five. “We’re definitely seeing more thoughtful spending,” she said, explaining that companies are placing smaller orders for staff and client gifts.
This shift in spending lines up with the Federal Reserve’s Beige Book, which reported that overall consumer spending is falling, while higher-end retail continues to do well. People with less are buying less.
People with more? Still spending. That same divide is happening with companies, too. Workers at smaller firms earn less, and those at larger ones are also the ones whose stock portfolios just ballooned from tech gains.
Bank of America Institute economist Taylor Bowley didn’t hold back: “We’re seeing two different economic realities on both the consumer and the business landscape.”
Randy Vines, co-owner of STL-Style, said his St. Louis-based custom apparel store got hit hard after last year’s holiday season flopped. “The tariffs were just the double whammy; that was the nail in the coffin,” he said. This summer, they cut employee hours by 25% and skipped hiring extra help. “We need to keep moving forward,” he said, despite slightly better sales this year.
Tariffs aren’t just a line on a bill. They’re throwing small firms into chaos. Total Promotion Co. in Las Vegas, which supplies promo goods like pens and bags, is tangled in confusion over who pays for import fees. “We’d get a bill from the shipper for tariffs and it caused us to lose money on certain jobs rather than make money,” said CEO Brandon Mills. He laid off a full-time worker, and the team is now down to six, from ten last year.
Tariffs, labor shortages and rising costs push owners to the edge
It’s not just product sellers feeling the pressure. Restaurants are gasping for air, too. More than 90% of them are small companies, according to Chad Moutray from the National Restaurant Association. But customers are skipping meals out, and inflation has jacked up the price of everything from rent to cheese.
In Los Angeles, Zach Negin runs Tabula Rasa Bar. He’s dealt with wildfires, a weak entertainment sector, and vanishing office parties. “This year, it’s happy hours instead of full buyouts,” he said.
Tariffs have pushed up prices on wine and parts for his gear, while labor and insurance aren’t any cheaper. “I feel like I have less confidence in how things are going to go than I have in 10 years of running this business,” he said. He’s been shortening shifts and not replacing staff.
Small retailers are also losing people.
Andrew Chamberlain, Gusto’s chief economist, said retail and professional services cut the most jobs in October and November. His firm’s jobs data shows clear drops. And it’s not just them.
Homebase, which helps small companies schedule workers, said both participation and total hours worked fell the most in three years, especially in entertainment and hospitality.
The U.S. Chamber of Commerce says companies with up to 500 employees make up nearly half of the entire U.S. workforce and over 40% of GDP. Yet they’re the ones struggling to stay alive.
Their margins are thin, their bank accounts are thinner, and they don’t have Wall Street to bail them out. Unlike big companies, they don’t have fancy tools to manage tariffs or labor gaps. They just try to make payroll.
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