A small number of companies are making moves to cut paid time off and parental leave — a choice that could pave the way for a wider trend but could also backfire for those companies, Business Insider reported.
Major employers Zoom and Deloitte are both reducing the time they allow for parental leave.
Zoom has already made its changes, dropping the time offered to 18 weeks for a parent giving birth (down from 22-24) and 10 for a parent not giving birth (down from 16), a spokesperson told Business Insider.
At Deloitte, the cuts are set to take place in January. In addition to reducing parental leave, it will also reduce or eliminate PTO, its pension plan, and in vitro fertilization funding for some workers. This will mostly affect those in support roles, including administration, IT, and finance.
These cuts are being made despite the incredible importance workers place on PTO and parental leave.
According to Business Insider, a 2026 MetLife survey of 2,550 full-time workers in the United States found that these are two of the most valued workplace benefits, alongside disability leave. Over 75% of respondents considered paid leave a "must-have."
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Right now, the job market favors employers. Employees are unlikely to leave an employer that cuts benefits to find a better deal.
However, this situation may not last forever. In a job market that leans more toward employees, companies that have employed this strategy could see high-value workers flood away to competitors.
Meanwhile, even employees who are stuck where they are still have options. According to Business Insider, employee engagement levels are at their lowest since 2020, having dropped again for the second year in a row. Dissatisfied employees are less productive, a fact which affects a company's bottom line in a more subtle, less traceable way than the profits from cutting benefits.
Time will tell whether the overall market embraces benefit cuts of this nature or whether it turns out to be a losing strategy.
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