U.S. job cuts top 1 million as AI and cost-cutting accelerate

U.S.-based employers announced 153,074 job cuts in October, the highest October total since 2003, Challenger, Gray & Christmas said in its report.

Through the last month, announced cuts reached 1,099,500, up 65% year over year and already above all of 2024, the report shows. Challenger tracked nearly 450 individual layoff plans in October, up from under 400 in September.

Cost-cutting led October announcements with 50,437 layoffs. Artificial intelligence was the second-most cited factor at 31,039 in October and 48,414 year to date. Warehousing led industries with 47,878 cuts, while Technology announced 33,281.

“October’s pace of job cutting was much higher than average… as AI adoption, softening spending and rising costs drive belt-tightening and hiring freezes,” said Andy Challenger, chief revenue officer at the firm.

Planned hiring remains weak: employers announced 488,077 hires through the month, down 35% year over year and the lowest year-to-date total since 2011, Challenger said.