Key Takeaways U.S. companies announced 153,074 job cuts last month, the most for any October since 2003, according to a new report.
Cost-cutting and AI were the two main reasons for job reductions.
Employers eliminated more than a million jobs so far this year, an increase of 65% when compared to the first 10 months of last year.
In October, U.S. companies executed more layoffs than in any other October in 22 years. The surge was driven by the rapid adoption of AI and significant cost-cutting.
According to a report released Thursday from human resources consulting firm Challenger, Gray & Christmas, U.S. companies announced 153,074 job cuts last month, the most for any October since 2003 and almost triple the number during the same month the previous year. October saw the highest number of layoffs for any month in the fourth quarter since 2008.
Layoffs in the technology and warehousing industries drove the high numbers, with the warehousing sector slashing 48,000 roles, while the tech industry eliminated more than 33,000 jobs in October.
Related: ‘Total Panic’: Target Is Planning to Cut 8% of Its Global Corporate Workforce — Its First Major Layoffs in a Decade
United Parcel Service (UPS) contributed to the warehouse layoffs, announcing a total of 48,000 job cuts for the year in late October. About 34,000 eliminations came from operational roles, including drivers and warehouse staff.
Meanwhile, in the tech sector, Amazon laid off 14,000 corporate workers in October, one of the largest job cuts in the company’s corporate history, while Meta eliminated over 600 jobs in its AI and risk divisions.
“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,” Andy Challenger, chief revenue officer for Challenger, Gray & Christmas, said in a statement.
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