U.S. layoff announcements rose 3% last month to the highest level in 11 months as automation-related restructuring continues to take a toll, a report released on Thursday said.
Published March 7, 2024
U.S.-based employers announced 84,638 cuts in February, up 3% from the 82,307 cuts announced one month prior. It is 9% higher than the 77,770 cuts announced in the same month in 2023, according to a report released Thursday from global outplacement and business and executive coaching firm Challenger, Gray & Christmas, Inc.
Challenger, Gray & Christmas, Inc. ©
February’s total is the highest for the month since 2009, when 186,350 job cuts were announced in the second month of the year.
So far this year, companies have announced plans to cut 166,945 jobs, down 7.6% from the 180,713 cuts announced in January and February last year. With the exclusion of the first two months of last year, it is the highest January through February total since 2009 which saw 428,099 cuts announced during the first two months of the year.
Challenger, Gray & Christmas, Inc. ©
“As we navigate the start of 2024, we’re witnessing a persistent wave of layoffs. Businesses are aggressively slashing costs and embracing technological innovations, actions that are significantly reshaping staffing needs,” stated Andrew Challenger, labor and workplace expert and Senior Vice President of Challenger, Gray & Christmas, Inc.
WHICH INDUSTRIES ARE CUTTING?
The Technology sector leads all industries this year with 28,218 cuts, 12,412 of which occurred in February. While it is leading all industries, cuts in this sector have fallen 55% from the 63,216 cuts in this sector through February 2023.
Challenger, Gray & Christmas, Inc. ©
Financial firms have announced 26,856 cuts through February, up 56% from the 17,235 cuts through the same period last year.
While cuts are lower than last year, and Tech and Financial industries are the leading job cutters, several industries are up significantly over last year.
- The Industrial Goods Manufacturing sector announced 7,806 cuts so far this year, up 1,754% from the 421 announced last year.
- Energy companies have announced 1,059% more cuts than during the same period in 2023: 4,486 vs 387.
- Education, including school districts, have announced 944% more job cuts this year over last year: 6,336 compared to 607 cuts through the same period last year.
- Transportation companies have announced 14,148 cuts this year, up 587% from the 2,059 announced in the first two months of 2023.
- Food manufacturers and producers have announced 9,824 cuts, up 355% from the 2,158 cuts in January and February last year.
MEDIA & NEWS CUTS
The Media industry has announced 4,685 cuts so far in 2024, down 52% from the 9,738 announced through February last year.
News, which Challenger tracks as a subset of Media and includes broadcast, digital, and print, has announced 1,754 cuts so far this year, up 94% from the 906 News cuts announced in the first two months of last year.
WHY ARE COMPANIES CUTTING?
Companies primarily cite “restructuring” plans for the reason for cuts; 37,659 cuts are due to this reason. Another 26,272 job cuts are due to store, unit, or plant closing, while 20,890 are due to cost-cutting. Companies are blaming economic and market conditions for 19,580 cuts.
Companies have explicitly mentioned artificial intelligence as the reason for 383 job cuts so far this year. More often, they state they are updating or incorporating new technology, accounting for 15,225 cuts through February. That’s a significant increase in pace from the 15,489 total cuts attributed to “technological update” Challenger has tracked since 2007.
“In light of the backlash some companies have faced for directly attributing job cuts to artificial intelligence, they appear to be framing this shift as a ‘technological update’ rather than an outright substitution of human roles with AI. In truth, companies are also implementing robotics and automation in addition to AI. It’s worth noting that last year alone, AI was directly cited in 4,247 job reductions, suggesting a growing impact on companies’ workforces,” said Challenger.
HIRING PLANS IN 2024
In February, employers announced plans to hire 10,317 workers, for a total of 15,693. This is the lowest year-to-date total for announced hiring plans on record since Challenger began tracking hiring plans in 2009.
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Contact Colleen Madden Blumenfeld for more data or to set up an interview with SVP Andy Challenger.
US layoffs reach highest since last March
Published on March 7, 2024
Job cut announcements reached 84,638 in February – the highest since last March – from 82,307 in January, outplacement firm Challenger, Gray & Christmas said. It was the highest total for the month of February since 2009, although on a year-to-date basis cuts so far in 2024 are down 7.6% from the same period last year.
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Restructuring efforts and plant, unit or store closures were most frequently cited as reasons for layoffs, Challenger said. Technological updates were cited for 15,225 cuts through February.
Andrew Challenger, the firm’s senior vice president, said firms may be masking cuts associated with artificial intelligence under other labels.
“In light of the backlash some companies have faced for directly attributing job cuts to artificial intelligence, they appear to be framing this shift as a ‘technological update’ rather than an outright substitution of human roles with AI,” said Challenger. “In truth, companies are also implementing robotics and automation in addition to AI. It’s worth noting that last year alone, AI was directly cited in 4,247 job reductions, suggesting a growing impact on companies’ workforces.”
Layoffs rise to the highest for any February since 2009, Challenger says
By Jeff Cox
Layoff announcements in February hit their highest level for the month since the global financial crisis, according to outplacement firm Challenger, Gray & Christmas.
The total of 84,638 planned cuts showed an increase of 3% from January and 9% from the same month a year ago, with technology and finance companies at the forefront.
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For the year, companies have listed 166,945 cuts, a decrease of 7.6% from a year ago.
“As we navigate the start of 2024, we’re witnessing a persistent wave of layoffs,” said Andrew Challenger, the firm’s labor and workplace expert. “Businesses are aggressively slashing costs and embracing technological innovations, actions that are significantly reshaping staffing needs.”
…
Challenger’s experts say companies most often cite restructuring plans as the main reason for the reductions in workforce. Artificial intelligence has been cited for just 383 cuts, though “technological updates” in general have been at the root of more than 15,000 reductions, or nearly as much as all the years combined since 2007.
“In truth, companies are also implementing robotics and automation in addition to AI. It’s worth noting that last year alone, AI was directly cited in 4,247 job reductions, suggesting a growing impact on companies’ workforces,” Challenger reported.
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