Quiet cutting is a strategy from employers where employees are reassigned to a different role rather than being laid off. The term arose in 2023 to describe a phenomenon seen in the American labor market. Although the nation had a strong job market during this time, quiet cutting was being adopted by companies due to economic worries of the future. Companies were observed to use this approach to fulfill crucial roles while simultaneously reducing costs. According to the financial research platform AlphaSense, conversations about reassignments during corporate earnings calls more than tripled between August 2022 and August 2023. Although the term "quiet quitting" was invented in 2023, the strategy had been seen before.