Challenger Report: US Job Cuts Reach Highest October Total Since 2003

U.S.-based companies reported 153,074 job cuts last month, the highest total number of job cuts for the month of October in over 20 years, according to the October Challenger Report from outplacement firm Challenger, Gray & Christmas. This figure brings the total number of job cuts in 2025 to 1,099,500, a 65% increase from the same 10-month period last year. Year-to-date job cuts have hit the highest level since 2020.

Cost-cutting and artificial intelligence were the top reasons cited for job cuts last month, responsible for 50,437 and 31,039 layoffs, respectively.

“October’s pace of job cutting was much higher than average for the month. 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,” says Andy Challenger, chief revenue officer for Challenger, Gray & Christmas.

By industry, warehousing (47,878) and technology (33,281) reported the highest job cuts in October, likely due to increases in automation and AI integration.

Last month marked the highest total job cuts for a single Q4 month since 2008, says Challenger.

“Over the last decade, companies have shied away from announcing layoffs in the fourth quarter, so it’s surprising to see so many in October. With the onset of social media, and the ability for workers to share their negative experiences with their employers, the trend of announcing layoffs before the holidays fell away,” he says. “At a time when job creation is at its lowest point in years, the optics of announcing layoffs in the fourth quarter are particularly unfavorable.”

Additionally, the firm tracked almost 450 individual job cut plans last month.