October Job Cuts

CGC reported double bad news: Individual companies announced both large layoff totals in October and a higher number of companies announced job cut plans. CGC tracked nearly 450 individual job cut plans in October, compared to just under 400 in September. March, which had the largest number of job cuts this year primarily due to cuts at the federal level, saw roughly 350 individual announcements.

October 2025’s total is the highest for the month since October 2003, when 171,874 cuts were recorded. That month, large announcements occurred in retail due to acquisitions and in telecommunication as cell phones gained wide adoption.

“This is the highest total for October in over 20 years, and the highest total for a single month in the fourth quarter since 2008,” the firm reported. “Like in 2003, a disruptive technology is changing the landscape.”

“Over the last decade, companies have shied away from announcing layoffs in the fourth quarter, so it’s surprising to see so many in October. With the onset of social media and the ability for workers to share their negative experiences with their employers, the trend of announcing layoffs before the holidays fell away, a practice that seemed particularly cruel,” said Mr. Challenger.

In fact, between 2003 and 2013, the fourth quarter averaged 74,733 job cuts a month. In the following decade, the monthly average in the fourth quarter fell to 42,927. For October, the average job cut total from 2014 to 2024 was 47,086.

“At a time when job creation is at its lowest point in years, the optics of announcing layoffs in the fourth quarter are particularly unfavorable,” he added.

Construction, Transportation Buck Trend

The construction and transportation sectors have suffered lower job cuts in 2025 than the previous year, the company said. Year-to-date there were 7,032 jobs cuts in the construction industry as compared to 10,925 recorded year-to-date in 2024.

The same holds true for the transportation sector, where there have been 15,544 job cuts so far in 2025 compared to 25,739 through October 2024.

Both sectors are seeing sharp declines in announced hiring plans. The report indicates that year-to-date 2025, there have been announced plans to hire 2,060 workers as compared to 4,527 by the same period in 2024. In the transportation sector, there have been only 353 announced new hires so far in 2025 compared to 127,956 jobs by October 2024.

Technology Sector Hit Hard

Technology continues to lead in private-sector job cuts as companies restructure amid AI integration, slower demand and efficiency pressures. In October, the sector announced 33,281 job cuts, up sharply from 5,639 in September. For the year, technology firms have announced 141,159 job cuts, up 17% from the 120,470 announced through the same period in 2024.

Retailers announced 2,431 job cuts in October, down from 2,577 the prior month, but the sector remains among the hardest hit this year. So far in 2025, Retail has announced 88,664 job cuts, a 145% increase from the 36,136 announced through October last year. The sector continues to face cost pressures, shifting consumer habits, and ongoing store closures.

The services sector, which includes companies that provide support to other businesses such as cleaning, staffing, and outsourcing firms, announced 1,990 job cuts in October, down from 6,290 in September. Year to date, the sector has announced 63,580 job cuts, up 62% from the 39,296 announced through October 2024.

Warehousing led all industries in October cuts, announcing 47,878 job cuts, up from 984 in September. Year to date, the sector has cut 90,418 jobs, a 378% increase from the 18,904 cuts announced in the same period last year. The surge suggests ongoing overcapacity and automation-driven restructuring following pandemic-era growth.

Consumer Products companies announced 3,409 job cuts in October, up from 1,983 in September. For the year, the sector has announced 41,033 job cuts, up 21% from the 33,865 cuts announced during the same period in 2024, as companies adjust production and workforce levels amid softening demand and changing consumer preferences.

Non-profits continue to be impacted by government funding as well as rising costs. These entities announced plans to cut 27,651 this year, an increase of 419% from the 5,329 announced by this point in 2024.

The media industry has announced 16,680 cuts so far in 2025, up 26% from the 13,279 cuts announced in the first 10 months of last year.

News, which Challenger tracks as a subset of media and includes broadcast, digital, and print, has announced 2,075 job cuts so far this year, 337 of which occurred in October. That is the highest monthly total since 462 in May. For the year, news cuts are down 41% from the 3,520 cuts announced during the same period last year.

“DOGE Impact” remains the leading reason for job cut announcements in 2025, cited in 293,753 planned layoffs so far this year. This includes direct reductions to the federal workforce and its contractors. An additional 20,976 cuts have been attributed to DOGE Downstream Impact, which reflects the loss of federal funding to private and non-profit entities.

In October alone, cost-cutting was the top reason employers cited for job reductions, responsible for 50,437 announced layoffs. Artificial Intelligence (AI) was the second-most cited factor, leading to 31,039 job cuts as companies continue to restructure and automate. AI has been cited for 48,414 job cuts this year.

Market and economic conditions accounted for another 21,104 cuts in October, bringing the year-to-date total for this reason to 229,331, while closings of stores, units, and plants resulted in 16,739 cuts for the month and 161,391 for the year. Restructuring was cited in 7,588 October announcements, for a total of 108,038 so far in 2025.

The Midwest logged 351 CEO exits year-to-date, up 6% from 332 in 2024. Illinois led the region with 72 CEO departures, compared to 57 last year. Indiana nearly doubled to 38 from 20, and Iowa rose to 23 from 11. Meanwhile, Ohio declined slightly to 61 from 71, and Michigan dropped to 29 from 41.

Hiring Plans in 2025

Through October, U.S. employers have announced 488,077 planned hires, down 35% from the 750,333 announced at this point in 2024. It is the lowest year-to-date total since 2011, when 459,971 new hires were planned. On average, employers have announced 48,808 new hires per month, the lowest monthly average since 2011, when an average of 44,798 new hires occurred monthly.

Included in Challenger’s hiring figure are 372,520 seasonal hiring plans through October, the lowest number of announced seasonal hires through October since Challenger began 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 Challenger in its report.