> ## Documentation Index
> Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://apidoc.cufinder.io/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.

# Layoff Signal

> Employee count dropped sharply in a single interval.

<CardGroup cols={3}>
  <Card title="Signal key" icon="code">
    `layoff_signal`
  </Card>

  <Card title="Category" icon="category">
    Decline
  </Card>

  <Card title="Source" icon="world">
    Company Professional Network page (employee count field).
  </Card>
</CardGroup>

Employee count dropped sharply in a single interval.

## When it fires

<Card title="Trigger condition" icon="bolt">
  `employee_count` drops ≥ 10% in a single crawl interval.
</Card>

## Magnitude

High by definition (≥10% threshold).

<Note>
  For the full bucket definitions used across percentage-based signals, see [Magnitude buckets](/buying-signals/concepts/magnitude-buckets).
</Note>

## Why it matters

A drop that sharp almost always means a layoff event. Layoffs reshape budgets, freeze new purchases, and shuffle the buying committee. Knowing a layoff happened lets you pause cold outreach or, for efficiency products, reframe around doing more with less.

## How to read it

<CardGroup cols={1}>
  <Card title="Budget freeze">
    Layoffs usually come with a spending freeze, time outreach carefully.
  </Card>

  <Card title="Committee shuffle">
    Decision-makers may have left, re-map the account.
  </Card>

  <Card title="Efficiency reframe">
    Tools that cut cost or replace headcount can still land.
  </Card>
</CardGroup>

## Outreach playbook

<Tip>
  Pause expansion pitches. For cost-saving tools, lead with consolidation and ROI.
</Tip>

## Related signals

<CardGroup cols={2}>
  <Card title="Mass Layoff Signal" href="/buying-signals/signals/decline/mass-layoff-signal">
    Employee count dropped severely in a single interval.
  </Card>

  <Card title="Employee Decrease" href="/buying-signals/signals/decline/employee-decrease">
    A company's employee count dropped by at least one.
  </Card>

  <Card title="Hiring Freeze Signal" href="/buying-signals/signals/decline/hiring-freeze-signal">
    Open roles collapsed while headcount stayed flat or fell.
  </Card>

  <Card title="Decline Signal" href="/buying-signals/signals/composite/decline-signal">
    A company shows a clear distress pattern.
  </Card>
</CardGroup>

***

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