In the first three months of 2025, 16 companies filed 18 applications for mass layoffs, impacting a total of 1,332 workers. These layoffs are carried out under a specific procedure designed to protect workers' rights, with the qualification based on the size of the company. Even relatively small layoffs, such as those affecting just a few employees, are classified as mass layoffs. Over the past two years, the number of layoffs has remained relatively steady.

Mass layoff applications have been filed in nine districts, with the highest concentration in Sofia, where 409 people are affected. However, the companies involved have not been disclosed. In Vratsa, 247 layoffs are linked to the closure of the Japanese-owned automotive cable factory, SE Bordnetze - Bulgaria, which previously employed around 950 people in the region.

Other regions affected include Plovdiv, with 337 layoffs, and Stara Zagora, where 135 workers are expected to lose their jobs. In Stara Zagora, the layoffs are likely tied to the closure of the Maritsa-Iztok 3 power plant, owned by ContourGlobal, which had already laid off 318 workers last year. The company had announced plans to restart the plant between January and March, with some workers expected to return, but those plans are limited to the winter season.

Additional layoffs are taking place in Veliko Tarnovo (86 workers), Pleven (74 workers), Pazardzhik (20 workers), Pernik (14 workers), and Kyustendil (10 workers). The Veliko Tarnovo layoffs are reportedly linked to the closure of the Deni ice cream factory, now owned by Unilever, which will move production to other countries later this year.

In 2024, 70 companies filed 75 mass layoff notifications, resulting in 5,676 job losses. The largest layoff request was from Leoni in Pleven, which planned to lay off 1,191 workers. Other significant layoffs came from ContourGlobal (318 workers) and a Plovdiv-based company (302 workers). Companies in Burgas and Sliven also made major layoffs.