leolintang/iStock via Getty Images Employers cut 60,620 jobs in March, up 25% from 48,307 cuts announced in February and down 78% from the 275,240 cuts announced in March 2025, outplacement and executive coaching firm Challenger, Gray & Christmas said on Thursday. During the first quarter of 2026, 217,362 job cuts were announced, the lowest Q1 level since 2022. The Q1 2026 total is down 16% from 2...
leolintang/iStock via Getty Images Employers cut 60,620 jobs in March, up 25% from 48,307 cuts announced in February and down 78% from the 275,240 cuts announced in March 2025, outplacement and executive coaching firm Challenger, Gray & Christmas said on Thursday. During the first quarter of 2026, 217,362 job cuts were announced, the lowest Q1 level since 2022. The Q1 2026 total is down 16% from 259,948 recorded in Q4 2025 and 56% from 497,052 seen in the first quarter of 2025. "Removing the wave of federal layoffs announced in February and March of last year, job cut announcements in 2026 are closely following the pattern of 2025. Last year, it was Government, Retail, and Technology. This year, it's Technology, Transportation, and Healthcare," said Andy Challenger, chief revenue officer for Challenger, Gray & Christmas. The technology sector cut 18,720 jobs in March and a total of 52,050 in 2026. The number was largely impacted by workforce reduction at Dell Technologies ( DELL ). Oracle ( ORCL ) is also said to have started laying off employees late last month to drive down costs to support its artificial intelligence infrastructure buildout. Furthermore, Meta Platforms ( META ) ( META:CA ) was reportedly planning to cut "a few hundred" jobs across the company, including at Reality Labs. The sector is likely to see more layoffs in 2026, the report by Challenger, Gray & Christmas noted. "Companies are shifting budgets toward AI investments at the expense of jobs. The actual replacing of roles can be seen in technology companies, where AI can replace coding functions. Other industries are testing the limits of this new technology, and while it can't replace jobs completely, it is costing jobs," said the report. The transportation sector announced the second-most job cuts in 2026, with 32,241. Healthcare companies and health products manufacturers, including Hospitals, followed with 23,520 job cuts announced in Q1. In March, AI led all reasons for job cuts, with 15,3...