(Reuters) – Berkshire Hathaway said on Friday it has shed more than 4,000 jobs over the last year, even as the conglomerate run by Warren Buffett is on pace to post a record annual operating profit.
In a regulatory filing, Berkshire said its dozens of operating businesses employ about 392,000 people, down from 396,440 shown in its most recent annual report last February.
The filing did not say which businesses have cut, or added, jobs. Larger Berkshire-owned employers include the BNSF railroad, Geico car insurer, Marmon manufacturing and service operations, and the Pilot truck stop chain.
Buffett’s assistant did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Berkshire seeks to own strong businesses it can hold onto forever, but will make job cuts to address changing markets or business priorities.
Geico cut 7,700 jobs in 2023 as it combated underwriting losses, while Precision Castparts cut 13,400 jobs in 2020 as the COVID-19 pandemic destroyed demand for its aircraft parts.
More recently, Pilot shuttered its international oil trading business and let go most of that business’s leaders, to focus on truck stops and service stations.
Berkshire reported a record $37.35 billion of operating profit in 2023, and $32.91 billion of operating profit in the first nine months of 2024. It is expected to report full-year results for 2024 in late February.
Buffett, 94, has led Berkshire since 1965. The Omaha, Nebraska-based conglomerate is decentralized, and Buffett is not involved in its subsidiaries’ day-to-day operations.
(Reporting by Jonathan Stempel in New York; Editing by Bill Berkrot)
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