More Than 64,000 Jobs Cut From Major U.S. Workforce
Global outplacement and executive coaching firm Challenger, Gray & Christmas has released its latest report on U.S. job cuts, and it reveals the newest jobs numbers for April. Looking at the overall picture, Challenger, Gray & Christmas revealed that U.S.-based employers cut 105,441 positions in April, which is down 62% from 275,240 job cuts in March. Looking at last year, that number is up 63% from the 64,789 cuts announced in the same month in 2024, according to their research.
"April’s total is the highest for the month since April 2020, when 671,129 cuts were announced, the highest number recorded in a month since Challenger began reporting on job cut announcements in 1989," the firm stated in a May 1 feature on their research. "With the exclusion of April 2020, last month’s total is the highest since 2009, when 132,590 job cut plans were announced."
One major U.S. workforce was especially impacted by cuts in April, and that's retail. According to Challenger, Gray & Christmas, retailers cut 7,235 jobs in April, making it a total of 64,319 job cuts in the first four months of the year. That marks the second-leading industry in job cuts in 2025 and a 296% increase from the 16,232 retail job cuts made during the same period last year.
In the report, Andrew Challenger, senior vice president and workplace expert for Challenger, Gray & Christmas, said that while U.S. government cuts have been "front and center," they saw job cuts from a variety of sectors in April.
"Generally, companies are citing the economy and new technology" as the reasons for the cuts, he stated. "Employers are slow to hire and limiting hiring plans as they wait and see what will happen with trade, supply chain and consumer spending," he added.
Technology companies also saw major cuts, totaling 64,118 for the year so far. That's an increase of 45% from the 47,436 cuts announced during the same period in 2024. The healthcare industry has seen a 13% increase in cuts over the same time last year.