Overview
- Announced U.S. job cuts reached 153,074 in October, up 183% from September and the highest October tally since 2003, according to Challenger, Gray & Christmas.
- Tech was the hardest-hit sector with 33,281 October layoffs and 141,159 planned cuts so far this year, and the firm does not expect strong seasonal hiring in 2025.
- Amazon eliminated about 14,000 corporate roles tied to reorganization and AI-focused priorities, while Salesforce cut roughly 4,000 support jobs as its CEO said AI can handle about half the company’s work.
- Chegg is cutting 388 roles, or about 45% of its workforce, citing competition from large language models and estimating $15 million to $19 million in severance costs in a securities filing.
- Researchers and economists caution that firms may be overstating AI as a cause for cuts, pointing to post-pandemic corrections and weaker demand, and they advise workers to pursue AI literacy and adjacent upskilling.