If your custody arrangment is by agreement and not a court order you would need to file for primary physical custody.
I’m not certain that a move for a better job would be the sole deciding factor for granting primary custody. It would have to be in conjunction with other factors that are in the child’s best interest.
EDIT: There may have been a detail that you left out. Your subject says job loss but you did not specify that to be the case.:EDIT
You can still retain joint physical custody even if one parent has the majority of the time. The custody definitions are determined by whatever the party decide they mean. You could have joint physical custody with equal time, joint physical custody with one parent having the majority of the time. You can have primary physical custody with the other parent having visitations twice a week and every other weekend (almost equal)…
Would your ex consider revising the current custody arrangement? Is your son old enough to have an input and would your ex take his feelings about it into consideration?
Since there is no custody order filed you could address this issue in front of the court and ask them to set a schedule in the best interests of your son. You would have to convince the court that moving your son out of the area would be in his best interests, often the courts are reluctant to do this if a child has a large support system in one area.
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I work in the mortgage industry and have survived a number of layoffs at my company. I have received an offer to work in a city 3 hours drive away that is in a much more stable industry and also pays 25% more.
I also share custody half-time of my son. Do I have a case at all for moving my son and in effect creating a full-term custody arrangement? Our current custody arrangement is by mutual agreement, with no court ordered custody.