Sustainability pros join jobless ranks as ESG priorities shift

Layoffs reached the highest level since 2009 during the first two months of 2025, up 33 percent from the previous year. So far this year, employers have eliminated 221,812 positions, according to job placement firm Challenger Gray & Christmas.   

Federal employees bore the brunt of these cuts, especially in February. Retail and technology companies are also slashing headcount at a quicker pace than last year.

Most of the private-sector cuts are part of larger corporate reorganizations, and sustainability professionals are not immune.

Zendesk, for example, eliminated its director of sustainability when it slashed about 50 positions in February as part of broader cost-cutting measures. Amazon likewise laid off a small number of people as part of ongoing efficiency measures in January from the communications and corporate responsibility organization, which houses the sustainability team.

Sustainability professionals were part of broad layoffs and restructuring initiatives at troubled aircraft maker Boeing and at financial institutions BlackRock and Wells Fargo, according to a source who requested anonymity. Starbucks, which is eliminating more than 1,100 corporate positions, declined to comment on whether the reduction would directly affect the sustainability team.

Recent layoffs at two other companies, S&P Global and Southwest Airlines, are more indicative of strategy shifts related to ESG and sustainability strategy.

Reorganization impacts S&P sustainable investing service

S&P Global in February cut a number of senior positions from Sustainable1, a service that offers climate risk metrics and other corporate sustainability ratings, according to sources familiar with the matter.

The division was recently folded into the S&P Global Commodity Insights business as part of an effort to integrate this information with other investment research. The cuts were part of the company’s ongoing efforts to streamline costs as artificial intelligence automates data collection and threatens legacy services, the sources said.

S&P Global did not respond to a request for comment.

Southwest guts sustainable aviation fuel team

Struggling airline Southwest eliminated more than a half-dozen employees on the teams spearheading its sustainable aviation fuel and broader corporate climate strategy, according to several sources.

The cuts were part of a Feb. 17 downsizing that affects about 15 percent of Southwest’s 1,750 employees.

The company also plans to disband a group that was formed to invest in renewable fuel startups, reported Bloomberg.

Southwest has committed to include at least 10 percent sustainable aviation fuel into the supply for its jets by 2030.

The airline announced a $30 million investment in another fuel maker, LanzaJet, in February 2024. It also paid an undisclosed sum in March 2024 to buy Saffire Renewables, but now plans to divest that company, which makes fuels from corn husks and stalks, according to the Bloomberg report. 

A Southwest spokesperson confirmed that the sustainability and sustainable field teams were impacted by the company’s layoffs. Southwest still plans to provide an update on its sustainability metrics in spring 2025, but the spokesperson did not comment when asked if the airline still remains committed to its sustainable aviation fuel pledge.