Published May 1, 2025
U.S.-based employers announced 105,441 cuts in April, down 62% from the 275,240 job cuts in March. It is up 63% from the 64,789 cuts announced in the same month last year, according to a report released Thursday from global outplacement and executive coaching firm Challenger, Gray & Christmas.
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. With the exclusion of April 2020, last month’s total is the highest since 2009, when 132,590 job cut plans were announced.
“Though the Government cuts are front and center, we saw job cuts across sectors last month. Generally, companies are citing the economy and new technology. Employers are slow to hire and limiting hiring plans as they wait and see what will happen with trade, supply chain, and consumer spending,” Andrew Challenger, Senior Vice President and workplace expert for Challenger, Gray & Christmas.
Source: Challenger, Gray & Christmas, Inc.
So far this year, employers have announced 602,493, the highest year-to-date total since 2020 when 1,017,812 job cuts were recorded. It is up 87% from the 322,043 cuts announced during the same period in 2024.
Which Industries are Cutting the Most?
Government & Department of Government Efficiency DOGE
The Government leads all sectors in job cuts this year with 282,227, 281,452 of which are attributed to DOGE-related cost-cutting. This is up 680% from the 36,195 job cuts announced in this sector through April 2024.
In April, the number of job cuts announced in this industry was 2,782. DOGE actions were attributed to 2,731, while the rest were attributed to “Economic Conditions” and “Cost-Cutting.”
Technology
Technology companies announced the most job cuts in April with 27,021, a 79% increase from the 15,055 cuts announced in this sector one month prior. So far this year, Technology companies have announced a total of 64,118 cuts. This is up 35% from the 47,436 cuts announced during the same period last year.
Source: Challenger, Gray & Christmas, Inc.
Retail
Retailers announced 7,235 cuts in April for a total of 64,319 in the first four months of the year, the second-leading industry in job cuts this year. This is a 296% increase from the 16,232 Retail job cuts announced during the same period last year.
Healthcare
Companies in the Healthcare/Products space, including hospitals and products manufacturers, announced 19,494 job cuts so far in 2025, including 7,654 in April. The year-to-date total is up 13% from the 17,218 job cuts announced during the same period last year.
Non-Profits
Non-Profits have cut 5,453 job cuts so far this year, up 229% from the 1,655 cuts announced in the first four months of 2024. Of the 2,496 cuts in this space that were announced in April, 1,375 were attributed to DOGE-related funding cuts.
Media & News Cuts
The Media industry has announced 3,605 cuts so far in 2025, down 55% from the 8,091 cuts announced in the first four months of last year.
News, which Challenger tracks as a subset of Media and includes broadcast, digital, and print, has announced 573 job cuts so far this year, none recorded in April, down 73% from the 2,184 cuts announced during the same period last year.
Why are Companies Cutting?
“DOGE Actions” lead all job cut reasons in 2025 with 283,172, 2,919 of which occurred in April. Another 6,945 cuts were attributed to “DOGE Downstream Impact” through April, primarily at Non-Profits and Education organizations. These reasons combined (290,117) make up 48% of all job cuts announced so far in 2025.
Market/Economic Conditions were cited for 95,348 job cuts, as economic uncertainty, consumer spending, and trade difficulties impact US-companies.
Tariffs were cited for 1,413 cuts so far this year, with 1,350 occurring in April. Restructuring accounted for 67,627, and 60,551 were due to store, unit, or location “Closing.”
Where Are Job Cuts Occurring?
In the first four months of 2025, the East region experienced a dramatic rise in job cuts, driven largely by activity in the District of Columbia. The region recorded 373,621 cuts, up 245% from 108,322 in the same period last year. The District of Columbia alone saw layoffs surge from 34,120 to 282,596, an increase of over 700%.
The Midwest also saw a notable uptick, rising 15% year over year, from 50,423 to 58,081. The sharpest increases came from Ohio (+295%), Nebraska (+1,490%), and Kansas (+377%). Conversely, Illinois, Michigan, Indiana, Missouri, Minnesota, and Wisconsin all saw declines from 2024 levels.
The South region saw an uptick in job cuts of 37%, from 39,403 to 54,063. Georgia (+73%), Florida (+75%), Tennessee (+396%), and Kentucky (+21%) all experienced increased layoff activity, even as Virginia, Alabama, and North Carolina saw declines.
The West region reported a 6% decrease, with job cuts falling from 123,895 in 2024 to 116,728 in 2025. Despite the overall decline, California (+19%) and Arizona (+97%) saw increased layoffs, as did Texas, Washington, and Oklahoma.
Hiring Plans
Companies’ hiring plans have risen over last year. In April, employers announced plans to hire 16,191, an increase of 65% from the 9,802 hiring plans announced in April 2024. For the year, employers plan to hire 70,058, up 50% from 46,597 hiring plans announced through the same time last year.
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Contact Colleen Madden Blumenfeld for more data or to set up an interview with SVP Andy Challenger.
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