- Challenger, Gray & Christmas said layoff plans totaled 71,321 in November, a step down from the massive cuts announced in October but still enough to bring the 2025 total up to 1.17 million.
- The most-cited reason for the month was restructuring, followed by closings and market or economic conditions.
Announced job cuts from U.S. employers moved further ahead of 1 million for the year in November as corporate restructuring, artificial intelligence and tariffs have helped pare job rolls, consulting firm Challenger, Gray & Christmas reported Thursday.
The firm said layoff plans totaled 71,321 in November, a step down from the massive cuts announced in October but still enough to bring the 2025 total up to 1.17 million. That total is 54% higher than the same 11-month period a year ago and the highest level since 2020, when the Covid pandemic rocked the global economy.
In November, Verizon’s announcement that it would slash more than 13,000 jobs helped drive the total. Tech companies, driven by innovations in artificial intelligence, listed 12,377 reductions, pushing the sector’s 2025 total up 17% from a year ago. AI itself has been cited for 54,694 layoffs this year.
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Manufacturers shrink for 9th month in a row, ISM finds. Tariffs hurt sales and keep lid on hiring.
‘Business conditions remain soft as a result of higher costs from tariffs, the government shutdown, and increased global uncertainty’
American manufacturing contracted for the ninth straight month, a survey showed, as uncertainty tied to ever-changing tariffs and a historic government shutdown weighed on business.
A closely followed manufacturing index fell to a four-month low of 48.2% in November from 48.7% in the prior month, the Institute for Supply Management said Monday. Any number below 50% signals contraction.
The ISM surveys executives every month about how their businesses are doing. Business isn’t getting any better, they say.
“At any given point, trade with our international partners is clouded and difficult,” one executive at an electrical-equipment maker told ISM. “Suppliers are finding more and more errors when attempting to export to the U.S. — before I even have the opportunity to import.”