Published April 3, 2025
U.S.-based employers announced 275,240 job cuts in March, a 60% increase from the 172,017 cuts announced one month prior. It is up 205% from the 90,309 cuts announced in the same month in 2024, which was the highest monthly total recorded last year, according to a report released Thursday from global outplacement and business and executive coaching firm Challenger, Gray & Christmas, Inc.
“Job cut announcements were dominated last month by Department of Government Efficiency [DOGE] plans to eliminate positions in the federal government. It would have otherwise been a fairly quiet month for layoffs,” Andrew Challenger, Senior Vice President and workplace expert for Challenger, Gray & Christmas.
Over the last two months, DOGE actions have been attributed to 280,253 layoff plans of federal workers and contractors impacting 27 agencies, according to Challenger tracking. Another 4,429 job cuts have come from the downstream effect of cutting federal aid or ending contracts, impacting mostly Non-Profits and Health organizations.
March’s total is the third-highest monthly total ever recorded. The highest monthly total occurred in April 2020 when 671,129 cuts were recorded, followed by May 2020 with 397,016. It is the highest total for the month of March on record, since Challenger began reporting on job cut plans in 1989.
So far this year, employers have announced 497,052, the highest year-to-date and quarterly total since Q1 2009, when 578,510 job cuts were announced. It is up 93% from the 257,254 cuts announced during the same period in 2024 and an increase of 227% from the 152,116 cuts announced in the previous quarter. (Table 5)
Source: Challenger, Gray & Christmas, Inc.
Which Industries are Cutting the Most?
Government & DOGE
The Government led all sectors in job cuts in March with 216,215, all of which occurred in the federal government. So far this year, the Government has cut 279,445, an increase of 672% from the 36,195 cuts announced in the first quarter of 2024.
In March of 2024, the previous administration announced plans to cut 10,000 from the Veterans Affairs and 24,000 from the United States Army. Prior to March 2024, the highest monthly total for the sector occurred in September 2011, when Government entities cut 54,182, primarily on an announcement to cut 50,000 positions in the U.S. Army. This sector cut a total of 15,584 cuts between 2021 and 2023 after cutting 78,323 jobs in all of 2020. Unlike March 2025, these cuts were a mixture of federal, state, and local government positions.
Technology
Technology companies announced 15,055 job cuts in March, a 3% increase from the 14,554 cuts announced in this sector one month prior. So far this year, Technology companies have announced a total of 37,097 cuts. This is down 14% from the 42,442 cuts announced during the same period last year.
Retail
Retailers announced 11,709 cuts in March and 57,804 in the first quarter, the second-leading industry in job cuts this year. This is a 370% increase from the 12,148 Retail job cuts announced in Q1 2024.
Consumer & Automotive
Consumer products manufacturers have announced 14,619 job cuts so far in 2025, an increase of 54% from the 9,468 cuts announced during the same time last year. Auto makers have announced 7,146 job cuts this year, a 28% increase from the 5,816 job cut plans announced through March 2024.
“Several sectors will be impacted by tariffs going forward, including Consumer, Auto, and Retail. These sectors are already cutting more workers than last year,” said Challenger.
Financial
Financial firms have cut 15,982 job cuts so far this year, down 44% from the 28,715 announced through this point last year.
Media & News Cuts
The Media industry has announced 1,820 cuts so far in 2025, down 74% from the 6,931 cuts announced in the first three 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, down 73% from the 2,127 cuts announced during the same period last year.
Why are Companies Cutting?
“DOGE Impact” leads job cut reasons this year with 280,253, 216,670 in March. Market/Economic Conditions followed with 47,851 job cuts attributed to this reason in the first quarter.
Another 45,761 job cuts were attributed to store, unit, or department Closing. Restructuring accounted for 39,396, while Bankruptcy was the reason for 35,501. Just 63 layoffs have been attributed specifically to tariffs so far this year, all in the Retail sector.
Where Are Job Cuts Occurring?
Challenger tracks job cuts by headquarter location unless the announcement specifies where the layoffs will occur.
So far this year, the East region has experienced a steep increase in job cuts, primarily due to the cuts conducted by DOGE. The East experienced a 277% year-over-year increase from 94,406 to 355,992. The District of Columbia saw the largest increase from 34,120 in the first quarter of 2024 to 278,711 in 2025.
The Midwest region saw significant job cut activity, with a 25% increase from 37,639 in Q1 2024 to 47,063 in 2025. The largest increases occurred in Ohio and Nebraska, while Missouri, Wisconsin, and Indiana saw significant drops.
Meanwhile, the West region experienced an overall 19% decline, dropping from 92,178 in 2024 to 74,521 in 2025. Texas, Arizona, and Oklahoma have seen increased job cutting this year.
The South region saw the most substantial decline in job cuts, dropping 41% from 33,031 in 2024 to 19,476 in 2025. Despite this, several Southern states saw more job cut plans than last year, including Alabama, Florida, Kentucky, Mississippi, and Tennessee.
Hiring Plans Fall to Lowest Level Since 2012
Companies’ hiring plans fell in March from 34,580 in February to 13,198. So far this year, companies plan to hire 53,867 workers, a 16% decrease from the 64,163 new hires announced in the first quarter of 2024. It is the lowest Q1 hiring total since 2012 when 52,540 new hiring plans were announced.
Note on DOGE Cuts & Recalled Workers
Challenger attempted to track the federal layoff plans that were rescinded and found 3,972. This figure was included in the report’s hiring plans. It is unclear if all workers who were recalled returned to their positions.
Separately, the administration attempted to cut tens of thousands of probationary employees, 24,000 of whom were recalled, according to court filings. This matter is still undergoing legal challenges.
Challenger did not count probationary employee cuts as a whole and therefore, did not include the recalled probationary employees in its hiring totals. It is possible that some probationary employees were included in individual agency layoff plans.
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Contact Colleen Madden Blumenfeld for more data or to set up an interview with SVP Andy Challenger.
