In fact, CNN Money reports several businesses have done just that, Grinching thousands out of a job less than a week before Christmas.

Related: The 50 best places to work

Layoffs are never easy — it doesn't matter if it's due to downsizing or a smaller budget in the New Year — but they are part of job lifecycle. For these companies, I'm not sure if it's going to be a holly jolly Christmas this year.

If you're interested in reading more about what to expect in next year's job market, check out 5 job trends to watch in 2017.

General Motors

1,300 employees in Detroit will be getting the axe right before the holidays at GM. The cars they work on include the Chevy Volt and Impala, as well as the Buick LaCrosse.

If you think that's the worst of it, not so fast: Another 2,000 GM employees will also be laid off within a month.

Boeing

As the demand for jumbo jets continues to trend downward, so too does the employment numbers at Boeing. Earlier this year, it was estimated that the commercial airplane company would cut 10 percent of its workforce.

According to CNN, Boeing will continue to cut jobs, citing growing competition with rival Airbus, who ironically, also had to cut 1,200 jobs earlier this year.  

GoPro

The decision to shut down its entertainment unit has led to layoffs at GoPro. Last month, the camera company said it would be laying off 200 employees, which doesn't seem bad, but it did say goodbye to 100 employees in January 2016.

At the time, that accounted for 7 percent of GoPro's workforce.

Xerox

Xerox, much like HP last year, is splitting its business into two — the first will focus on printing services, payment processing, and digitizing paper documents, while the second looks to outsource things such as HR, customer care, and accounting.

When the change was announced, CEO Ursula Burns said the goal of the split was to create a leaner and more efficient company, and with layoffs on the horizon, "leaner" will certainly be the case.

Xerox president Jeff Jacobson says the layoffs are coming, but specifics on how many is still up in the air. According to CNN, those most likely to be impacted are the 39,000 employees at the company's legacy copier business.

Caterpillar

Last year, 10,000 employees got the boot at the construction company, but more are still to come.

Like Xerox, no details were given on the exact number of people who will be let go, but the silver lining here is that Caterpillar spokespeople did say they would try to place as many as possible in new jobs within the company.

The Limited

Usually this time of year means big bucks for retail stores, but The Limited might not be one of the lucky ones.

Earlier this month, an earnings call signaled trouble for the clothing store — they said they were in need of cash to keep the doors from closing, and eventually told all of its 248 employees at its New Albany, Ohio home office their jobs are on the chopping block.  

According to some reports, the company was also looking for buyers after disappointing sales. 

Editor's note: If employees want to see notifications about upcoming layoffs in their state, they can access their state's Department of Labor WARN listings. The Worker Readjustment and Retraining Notification Act (WARN) is a law that requires employers to provide employees experiencing employment loss with a 60-day notice prior to a layoff, although some exceptions apply.