AI revolution prompts most US layoffs for any October since 2003
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Amazon.com was among last month’s job-cut headlines, and hiring has been tepid in many sectors.
PHOTO: REUTERS
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NEW YORK – US companies announced the most job cuts for any October in more than two decades as artificial intelligence (AI) reshapes industries and cost-cutting accelerates, according to data from outplacement firm Challenger, Gray & Christmas.
Companies in October announced 153,074 job cuts, nearly triple the number during the same month in 2024 and driven by the technology and warehousing sectors in the United States.
It is the most for any October since 2003, when the advent of cellphones was similarly disruptive, said Mr Andy Challenger, the company’s chief revenue officer.
“Some industries are correcting after the hiring boom of the (Covid-19) pandemic, but this comes as AI adoption, softening consumer and corporate spending, and rising costs drive belt-tightening and hiring freezes,” Mr Challenger said in the report.
“Those laid off now are finding it harder to quickly secure new roles, which could further loosen the labour market.”
The numbers are weak no matter how they are spliced. Year-to-date job cuts have exceeded one million, the most since the pandemic.
In the same period, US-based employers have announced the fewest hiring plans since 2011. Seasonal hiring plans through October are the lowest since Challenger started tracking them in 2012.
“It’s possible with rate cuts and a strong showing in November, companies may make a late-season push for employees, but at this point, we do not expect a strong seasonal hiring environment in 2025,” said Mr Challenger.
Mounting job-cut announcements risk fuelling concerns about the health of the labour market just as newly unemployed Americans are facing a diminished hiring environment.
The figures could also be viewed at odds with Federal Reserve chair Jerome Powell’s recent characterisation that there is only a “very gradual cooling” in the job market.
The report puts a number on the anecdotal evidence of layoffs rippling through the economy. Amazon.com, Meta Platforms, Target and Paramount Skydance were among last month’s job-cut headlines, and hiring has been tepid in many sectors.
Payrolls at US companies increased by 42,000 in October after two straight months of declines, signalling some stabilisation while consistent with a general softening in labour demand, ADP Research data showed on Nov 5.
Revelio Labs will also put out a job-market report later as economists increasingly turn to private-sector data in the government shutdown. BLOOMBERG
