Overview
- U.S. employers announced 108,435 job cuts in January, the largest January total since 2009, according to Challenger, Gray & Christmas.
- Roughly 40% of the announced reductions stem from two companies, with Amazon planning about 16,000 corporate cuts and UPS targeting up to 30,000 roles.
- Job vacancies fell to about 6.5 million in December, the lowest level since September 2020, Labor Department data show.
- Private-sector payrolls grew by only about 22,000 in January, ADP reported, while planned hiring totaled just 5,306, a record January low in Challenger’s data.
- Companies most often cited contract losses, economic and market conditions, and restructuring or closures for the cuts, with 7,624 attributed to artificial intelligence as Challenger marked a third layoff peak in 36 months.