October Layoffs Hit 20-Year High
By Reuters | 06 Nov, 2025

Most of the 175% surge in layoffs were due to adoption of AI to replace tech and white-collar workers as corporate cost-cutting gathers steam.

U.S.-based employers cut more than 150,000 jobs in October, marking the biggest reduction for the month in more than 20 years, a report by Challenger, Gray & Christmas said on Thursday as industries adopt AI-driven changes and intensify cost cuts.

Tech firms led the job cuts in the private sector, followed by retailers and the services sector, the global outplacement company said. 

Cost-cutting was the top reason for the layoffs in October, followed by artificial intelligence, while "DOGE Impact" was the leading reason for job cuts in 2025. 

The layoffs in October surged 175% from a year ago to 153,074. From the start of the year to October end, employers have announced 1,099,500 job cuts, a 65% rise from 664,839 in the same time period last year.

So far this year, job cuts are at the highest level since 2020 when 2,304,755 cuts were announced through October.

"Some industries are correcting after the hiring boom of the pandemic, but this comes as AI adoption, softening consumer and corporate spending, and rising costs drive belt-tightening and hiring freezes," said Andy Challenger, chief revenue officer for Challenger, Gray & Christmas.

Not only did individual companies announce large layoffs in October, but a higher number of companies announced job cut plans, Challenger said, tracking nearly 450 individual job cut plans in October compared to under 400 in September. 

Any economic data from private sources will be on investors' radar as official data continues to be absent with the U.S. government now entering its longest-ever shutdown. 

(Reporting by Shashwat Chauhan in Bengaluru; Editing by Arun Koyyur)