Adobe engineer was laid off after 25 years. He drives a school bus now
Layoffs have continued to reshape the tech industry as companies cut jobs after years of rapid hiring. In Adobe’s case, one longtime employee, Jeff Butterworth, said his 25-year run at the company ended in a layoff and that he now works as a school bus driver. His experience puts a personal face on a broader employment shift that has affected veteran workers across the industry.
A 25-year Adobe career ended in a layoff
Jeff Butterworth said he spent 25 years working as an engineer at Adobe before the company eliminated his job. He said the layoff happened after a long tenure that began in the late 1990s, making his exit notable in an industry where many workers change companies far more often. Adobe has announced workforce reductions in recent years, though a full public breakdown tied to Butterworth’s role was not released.
Butterworth identified himself as a former Adobe engineer and said he moved on to a very different kind of work after the cut. The confirmed detail at the center of his story is straightforward: after a quarter century in tech, he now drives a school bus. That shift stands out because it moves from one highly specialized field into a local public-facing job that communities rely on every school day.
What the change means close to home
The local impact is tied less to Adobe offices and more to the daily work Butterworth does now. As a school bus driver, he is part of a workforce that many districts across the US have said they need, especially since driver shortages became a recurring issue in the early 2020s. His new role places him in a job that directly affects students, families, and school schedules in his community.
What has not been publicly detailed is the exact district, route count, or pay tied to Butterworth’s driving job. Adobe also has not released a public list showing how many workers with similar tenure were affected in the same round tied to his departure. What is confirmed is the basic sequence: Butterworth lost his engineering job after 25 years and is now working behind the wheel of a school bus.
Why stories like this keep surfacing
The broader context comes from the tech sector’s multiyear reset. Since 2022, major companies across software, hardware, and online services have announced layoffs as leaders pointed to cost controls, slower growth, and changing business priorities. Adobe has also faced pressure common across the industry, including the need to manage spending while investing in newer products and artificial intelligence tools.
For readers, Butterworth’s story is a reminder that layoffs do not only affect early-career workers or recent hires. A 25-year employee can lose a role and quickly move into a completely different line of work, even after decades in one company. The factual takeaway is simple: long tenure has not insulated workers from tech job cuts, and in this case it led one former Adobe engineer into school transportation work.
