They were close to retirement. Then late-career layoffs threw a wrench in their plans
Kathryn Chisholm was laid off late last year, forcing her to delay retirement by five years.Isabella Falsetti/The Globe and Mail
After two decades at STEMCELL Technologies, Kathryn Chisholm, 52, thought she was in the home stretch to an early retirement. She and her husband had planned to leave the work force in their mid-50s, a goal that felt within reach.
That all changed late last year, when she was laid off from her role as associate director of scientific support programs. Her company said the decision was because of advances in artificial intelligence that weakened the value of her work, along with years of economic uncertainty leading up to the layoff.
“This change will definitely delay the start of our retirement,” said Ms. Chisholm, who is based in Vancouver. “This put us back at least five years.”
She wasn’t blindsided – several rounds of job losses had already swept the company – but that didn’t dull the sting. Ms. Chisholm received a severance package that will last a year-and-a-half, but losing her nearly $200,000 salary has blown a hole in her financial plans.
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In this shaky economy, waves of layoffs have hit industries across the board in Canada. Factors such as tariffs, automation, and AI are reshaping the job market, and executives and seasoned professionals are bearing a large brunt of the losses. While losing a job can be difficult at any stage, a late-career layoff can throw a wrench into a carefully organized retirement plan.
Statistics Canada and RBC Economics reported that workers aged 45 and over accounted for nearly 40 per cent of the unemployment rate increase between June 2024 and June 2025. At the same time, economic turmoil and volatile markets have appeared to push some retirees back into the work force, with a rise in job-seeking activity among those 55 and older, who had up until recently, left the labour market.
A job loss late in one’s career often coincides with when people earn their highest incomes, have the most debt, and are trying to build crucial retirement savings. Missing even a few of these critical years can have a large effect on retirement security.
Greg Vertelman, a career transition expert and chief growth officer at the Talent Company, based in Markham, Ont., calls this shift a “tsunami” of change.
“There’s been a definite increase” of job-seekers in transition, he said. “That includes top of the house, the executive level.” Many find themselves taking temporary or consulting roles just to get by, even if that wasn’t part of their original career plan, he added.
Ageism and higher salary expectations can also make re-employment harder to achieve for older workers.
Paul Whiteley, 51, knows this well. He lost his job as a project manager in the healthcare sector just over two months ago. But it wasn’t the first time he was laid off – he’d been let go at 36 and then again at 45.
This time around, finding another job has felt like staring into an abyss, he said.
Paul Whiteley was laid off recently for the third time in just 15 years, but luckily his experiences taught him to become an avid saver and investor.Galit Rodan/The Globe and Mail
“The job market is – I’m not going to say impossible – but I would say it’s very difficult because most organizations are cutting as opposed to hiring, and especially for older employees,” Mr. Whiteley said, who is based in Toronto.
However, he, like many other Canadians, are primed for moments exactly like these. After his first layoff, Mr. Whiteley became an avid saver and investor. “I remember at the time, I decided that I want to make sure I’m fully prepared, so if something like this happened again later in my career, I didn’t have to worry about it,” he said.
He is also better equipped to take on the psychological toll of searching for a new job. The first time Mr. Whiteley was laid off, he had little routine and struggled with his mental health. Now, he wakes up at 7 a.m. to work out, read, and spend the day job-hunting or learning new skills. “This time around, my mental health has been very good.”
He considers himself in “pre-retirement” and is studying to become an independent financial planner. Like many late-career workers, he is using the job loss as an opportunity to explore new passions, consulting gigs and creative projects he didn’t have time for before.
While Mr. Whiteley had prepared himself for this obstacle, many others haven’t. That can force difficult trade-offs.
Workers aged 45 and older made up nearly 40 per cent of the unemployment rate increase between June 2024 and June 2025.Isabella Falsetti/The Globe and Mail
Without the high-earning final years many retirement plans depend on, some may need to dip into savings earlier, downsize their homes, or take bridge jobs to cover expenses until their full pension benefits kick in. Recent Statscan data shows people aged 45 to 54 carry the highest average debt at $130,000, compared to $80,600 for those 55 to 64.
Tonya Archer, 53, was let go from her job as a senior program manager at a technology company late last year. Even though she considers herself a diligent saver, she had to cut her spending to keep up with the rising cost of living.
While she’s taken on some freelance gigs coaching people on career transitions, she has struggled to find another job herself, especially one that is within the same pay band. “There’s too many people looking for work. There’s just too many of us,” she said.