U.S.-based employers announced 83,387 job cuts in April, up 38% from the 60,620 job cuts recorded in March, and down 21% from the 105,441 cuts announced during the same month last year, according to a report released from Challenger, Gray & Christmas.
April’s total is the third highest since 2009: 105,441 job cuts recorded in April 2025 and 671,129 in April 2020. So far this year, employers have announced 300,749 job cuts, down 50% from the 602,493 cuts recorded through April 2025.
“Technology companies continue to announce large-scale cuts and are leading all industries in layoff announcements. They are also often citing AI spend and innovation. Regardless of whether individual jobs are being replaced by AI, the money for those roles is,” says Andy Challenger, workplace expert and chief revenue officer for Challenger, Gray & Christmas.
Key takeaways:
· Technology announced 33,361 job cuts in April for a total of 85,411 this year. That is a 33% increase from the 64,118 layoffs announced in this sector in the same period last year. It is the highest year-to-date total for the sector since 2023, when 113,944 technology cuts were recorded.
· Warehousing announced 5,743 cuts in April for a total of 10,512 so far in 2026. This is down 65% from the 30,057 cuts announced in this sector through April 2025.
· Through April, industrial goods manufacturers announced plans to cut 7,799 job cuts, up 71% from the 4,563 cuts announced in the same period in 2025.
· In April, AI led all reasons for job cuts for the second month in a row, with 21,490 announced during the month, 26% of total cuts. This reason has been cited for 49,135 cuts this year, and it is the third-leading cause of layoff plans. AI accounts for roughly 16% of all 2026 job cut plans, up from 13% through March.
· Company closings followed with 14,782, cost-cutting was cited for 12,912, and voluntary severance/buyouts accounted for 9,295 planned layoffs.
· So far in 2026, market and economic conditions lead all reasons year-to-date with 53,058 cuts, followed by company closings with 52,187. Restructuring was cited for 42,307 layoff plans, and contract loss caused with 34,484 job cuts.
· Hiring plans fell 69% in April to 10,049 from 32,826 in March. They are down 38% from the 16,191 hiring plans announced in April 2025. So far this year, employers have announced plans to hire 60,936 workers, down 13% from 70,058 new hires announced during the same period in 2025.
· Year-to-date, automotive leads all industries with 12,258 hiring plans, more than double the 4,874 announced through April 2025.
