Happy Kikky/iStock via Getty Images U.S. job cuts jump 38% in April, while year-to-date total drops 50%: Challenger job cuts report U.S.-based employers announced 83,387 job cuts in April, up 38% from March’s number but down 21% from the same month a year ago, according to the Challenger Report released on Thursday. It’s the third-highest April tally since 2009, after 105K cuts were recorded in 20...
Happy Kikky/iStock via Getty Images U.S. job cuts jump 38% in April, while year-to-date total drops 50%: Challenger job cuts report U.S.-based employers announced 83,387 job cuts in April, up 38% from March’s number but down 21% from the same month a year ago, according to the Challenger Report released on Thursday. It’s the third-highest April tally since 2009, after 105K cuts were recorded in 2025 and 671K cuts were announced in 2020. Year to date, employers disclosed 300,749 job cuts, down 50% from the same period last year. “Technology companies continue to announce large-scale cuts and are leading all industries in layoff announcements,” said Andy Challenger, chief revenue officer of Challenger, Gray & Christmas. "They are also often citing AI spend and innovation. Regardless of whether individual jobs are being replaced by AI, the money for those roles is." Technology firms announced 33,361 job cuts in April, bringing the year-to-date total to 85,411. That's up 33% from the first four months of 2025 and the highest year-to-date total since 2023. Federal, state, and local governments announced plans to cut 9,149 jobs, the highest monthly total since 216,915 jobs were announced in March 2025, when DOGE was in full force. Year to date, plans for 11,419 layoffs were announced, down 96% from the same period a year ago. Warehousing disclosed plans for 5,743 cuts in April and 10,512 for the year to date, down 65% from the number announced in the same period last year. Hiring plans continue to be depressed. The April total fell 69% M/M and 38% Y/Y to 10,049. Year to date, the number of hires planned declined 13% to 60,936. Government led April hiring with 2,350 announced, followed by technology, with 1,980 announced. Automotive, though, led the year-to-date hiring plans with 12,258 positions, more than double the 4,874 announced through April 2025. AI was the most cited reason for job cuts for a second straight month, Challenger, Gray & Christmas said. That was given ...