U.S. employers have announced roughly 1.17 million job cuts so far in 2025, the highest January‑through‑November tally since the first pandemic year and about 54% more than in the same period of 2024. On Wall Street, that counts as a “labor market cooling”; everywhere else, it looks more like the economy finally reading the fine print on all those “efficiency initiatives.”
A milestone nobody wanted
Consulting firm Challenger, Gray & Christmas reports that announced layoffs hit 71,321 in November, pushing this year’s total above 1.1 million for only the sixth time since the firm began tracking in 1993. The number of planned cuts is the highest for this point in the year since 2020, when lockdowns briefly turned “out of office” into a national employment status.
On the surface, November even looked “better”: planned cuts fell more than 50% from October’s elevated levels, but that is a bit like saying the fire is under control because only half the building is still burning.
Sectors learning to travel light
Technology companies once again lead the pink‑slip league tables, with more than 150,000 announced job cuts through November as firms unwind the hiring binge of the pandemic and reorganize around automation. Retail, services and telecommunications have also taken a conspicuous hit, with telecom layoffs jumping more than 250% from a year earlier after large cuts at a major carrier.
Government‑related cuts tied to the new Department of Government Efficiency and its downstream effects on contractors and grant recipients have added another large pocket of job losses, proving that “efficiency” can be remarkably labor‑intensive.
Reasons: AI, tariffs and old‑fashioned belt‑tightening
Corporate restructuring remains the single most common explanation in Challenger’s spreadsheets, a catch‑all that typically covers everything from merger clean‑up to the sudden realization that margins look better without people. Market and economic conditions, including weaker consumer and corporate spending, account for another large block of cuts as companies prepare for a slower 2026.
Artificial intelligence, the newest character in the layoff drama, is cited in more than 50,000 planned job cuts this year as employers automate routine functions and experiment with smaller human teams. Tariffs and trade frictions, meanwhile, have triggered almost 8,000 cuts, reminding workers that geopolitics can be hazardous to paychecks even when demand at home looks reasonably steady.
A split‑screen labor market
The spike in planned layoffs contrasts with still‑muted readings in traditional labor indicators, including weekly jobless claims that recently fell to their lowest level in more than three years. Private payroll data for November even showed overall job losses in the small‑business sector, suggesting that hiring engines are downshifting before the official unemployment rate fully reflects the change.
For now, the labor market resembles a plane that is losing altitude while the “fasten seat belt” sign remains politely off: passengers sense the drop, but the cockpit insists everything is proceeding according to plan.
What it means for workers and the Fed
For displaced workers, the numbers point to a tougher search than in recent years; Challenger notes that people laid off in 2025 are taking longer to land comparable positions as fewer employers announce large‑scale hiring plans. Planned hiring through November is down more than a third from last year, suggesting fewer soft landings just as the layoff wave crests.
At the policy level, the rise in job cuts will feed into Federal Reserve debates over how quickly to ease interest rates, with a weakening job market complicating efforts to keep inflation contained without engineering a deeper downturn. If the era of “labor shortages” defined the early 2020s, 2025 is shaping up as the year companies rediscovered an older tradition: solving for earnings first and explaining the human cost later.
The Sources…
[1] Layoff announcements top 1.1 million this year, the most since 2020 pandemic, Challenger says https://www.cnbc.com/2025/12/04/layoff-announcements-this-year-top-1point1-million-the-most-since-2020-when-pandemic-hit-challenger-says.html
[2] US planned job cuts fall 53% in November, Challenger says https://www.reuters.com/business/world-at-work/us-planned-job-cuts-fall-53-november-challenger-says-2025-12-04/
[3] Challenger Report: 71,321 Job Cuts on Restructurings, Closings, Economy https://www.challengergray.com/blog/challenger-report-71321-job-cuts-on-restructurings-closings-economy/
[4] US layoffs soar past 1.1M in 2025, highest level since the pandemic https://www.foxbusiness.com/economy/us-layoffs-soar-past-1-1m-2025-highest-level-since-pandemic
[5] [PDF] CHALLENGER REPORT November 2025 https://www.challengergray.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/12/Challenger-Report-November-2025.pdf
[6] October Challenger Report: 153,074 Job Cuts on Cost-Cutting & AI https://www.challengergray.com/blog/october-challenger-report-153074-job-cuts-on-cost-cutting-ai/
[7] Employers have cut 1.1 million jobs this year. Here’s what’s behind the wave of layoffs. https://www.cbsnews.com/news/employers-cut-1-1-million-jobs-2025-why-layoffs-rising/
[8] DOGE Impact, AI Among Top Reasons For Job Cuts In 2025 https://stocktwits.com/news-articles/markets/equity/layoff-announcements-cross-1-1-million-november-doge-ai-among-top-reasons/cLILyGnRESF
[9] Layoffs so far in 2025 highest since 2020: Research https://thehill.com/business/5633232-2025-layoffs-highs-report/
[10] Weakening job market weighs on Fed’s next vote on interest rates https://cbsaustin.com/news/nation-world/weakening-job-market-weighs-on-feds-next-vote-on-interest-rates-american-worker-tariff-scott-bessent-jerome-powell-kevin-hassett
[11] Definitive layoff report reveals ‘DOGE impact’ on labor market – Fortune https://fortune.com/2025/11/06/how-many-layoffs-doge-impact-job-cuts-ai-impact/
[12] Private Employers Cut Jobs in November, the Latest Sign of a Slowdown https://www.nytimes.com/2025/12/03/business/jobs-adp-economy.html
[13] A first look at November hiring shows the private sector lost 32,000 jobs https://www.cnn.com/2025/12/03/economy/us-adp-private-jobs-report-november
[14] Ranked: U.S. Job Cuts by Industry in 2025 https://www.visualcapitalist.com/ranked-u-s-job-cuts-by-industry-in-2025/
[15] United States Challenger Job Cuts – Trading Economics https://tradingeconomics.com/united-states/challenger-job-cuts
[16] Layoff announcements hit the highest level since the pandemic https://www.nbcnews.com/business/economy/layoffs-highest-since-pandemic-challenger-rcna247351
[17] Layoff tsunami hits US as 71,000 jobs slashed in November: 2025 becomes first 1.1 million+ cut year since https://economictimes.com/news/international/us/us-layoffs-2025-layoff-tsunami-hits-us-as-71000-jobs-slashed-in-november-2025-becomes-first-1-1-million-cut-year-since-pandemic/articleshow/125769872.cms
[18] U.S. companies have announced over 1.1 million layoffs in 2025 … https://www.facebook.com/meidastouch/posts/news-us-companies-have-announced-over-11-million-layoffs-in-2025-the-highest-tot/1182000454121556/
[19] Challenger: 2025 layoffs hit 1M highest since pandemic https://ca.finance.yahoo.com/news/challenger-2025-layoffs-hit-1m-153229027.html
[20] The Challenger Report Archives – Challenger, Gray & Christmas, Inc. https://www.challengergray.com/blog/category/job-cuts-report/
