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American companies slashed more than 150,000 jobs last month - the biggest October total in more than two decades. The bombshell figure comes as firms turn to artificial intelligence and aggressive cost-cutting to weather a cooling economy. A report from layoff tracking firm Challenger, Gray & Christmas shows employers announced 153,074 job cuts in October, up 175 percent from a year earlier and 183 percent from September. It marks the sharpest rise for the month since 2003, when the economy was still reeling from the dot-com bust and widespread layoffs swept through Silicon Valley. Challenger's report noted a striking reversal of a long-standing corporate taboo: announcing job cuts before the holidays. ‘Over the last decade, companies have shied away from layoffs in the fourth quarter,’ said Andy Challenger, chief revenue officer at the firm. ‘But this year, with social media and investor pressure for efficiency, that caution appears to have disappeared.’ The timing has drawn comparisons to Scrooged, the 1988 Bill Murray classic in which a ruthless TV executive fires an employee on Christmas Eve - only to be haunted by the consequences. The combination of new technology, rising costs and weaker demand is forcing companies to scale back. ‘Some industries are correcting after the hiring boom of the pandemic,’ he said, ‘but this comes as AI adoption, softening consumer and corporate spending, and rising costs drive belt-tightening and hiring freezes.’ Tech companies led the layoffs with more than 33,000 job cuts, followed by warehousing, which shed nearly 48,000 roles as automation replaces pandemic-era staffing. Retailers reeling from store closures, service firms that provide support to other businesses such as cleaning and logistics, and consumer goods companies that make everyday products also announced significant cuts. From January through October, US employers have announced more than 1.09 million job cuts - a 65 percent jump on last year and the highest level since 2020. Cost-cutting was the top reason for the layoffs in October, followed by artificial intelligence, while 'DOGE Impact' was the leading reason for job losses in 2025. AI has been blamed for more than 48,000 roles that were slashed this year as firms restructure to integrate automation into everything from customer service to logistics. ‘October’s pace of job-cutting was much higher than average for the month,’ Challenger said. ‘Those laid off now are finding it harder to quickly secure new roles, which could further loosen the labor market.’ Meanwhile, hiring plans remain weak. US employers have announced just under 490,000 new hires so far in 2025, down 35 percent from last year and the lowest level since 2011. ‘It’s possible rate cuts and a strong November could spur a late-season hiring push,’ Challenger said, ‘but at this point we do not expect a strong seasonal hiring environment.’ There have been a string of big companies announcing headline grabbing layoffs in recent months. In May, Walmart, America's largest employer, announced it was cutting 1,500 jobs from its tech operations and e-commerce teams. Procter & Gamble, the owner of Tide detergent and Gillette shaving products, is also undergoing significant cuts. The company said it would eliminate 7,000 positions. Microsoft, one of the leading firms investing in AI, said on June 18 it expected to lay off thousands of employees next month as it shifts resources toward deeper investments. The next day, Intel, which makes processors that power millions of Dell, HP and Lenovo computers, said it will slash 25,000 jobs this year as it battles to turn around its flagging fortunes. Last month saw a surge of layoffs. On October 23, Target announced it will eliminate about 1,800 corporate positions as it looks to save money and reinvent itself after nearly three years of falling sales. The cuts — roughly 8 percent of Target's 22,000 corporate staff — will primarily affect its US workforce. On October 28, Amazon issued 14,000 pink slips to white-collar staffers as it turned to AI. The same day, UPS revealed it has eliminated 34,000 jobs so far this year — a far steeper reduction than the 20,000 it projected in April. Why companies are cutting jobs in 2025 Cost-cutting was the biggest driver of layoffs in October, responsible for more than 50,000 job losses as firms tighten budgets ahead of year-end, according to the Challenger report. Artificial intelligence came next, blamed for 31,000 cuts in October and more than 48,000 so far this year, as companies automate roles once held by humans. Economic pressures also played a major part, with 21,000 jobs lost last month due to weaker demand and slowing growth. Another 16,700 cuts came from store and plant closures, while restructuring drove nearly 7,600 more. Government reductions under the so-called ‘DOGE impact’ - a mix of federal job losses and related private-sector fallout - remain the single biggest factor overall, accounting for nearly 300,000 layoffs this year. At the top level, the shake-up has also reached the boardroom: the Midwest logged 351 chief executive exits so far in 2025, up 6 percent from last year, led by Illinois, Indiana and Iowa.
