In the initial five months of 2025, job cut announcements surged by 80% compared to the same timeframe in the previous year, as stated in a recent report by Challenger, Gray & Christmas.
Employers have announced approximately 696,000 job cuts through May.
In 2024, that number was just over 385,000. According to the report, job cuts are only 65,000 away from matching the total for all of 2024.
Andrew Challenger, the senior vice president of the firm, highlighted in the report that “Tariffs, funding reductions, consumer spending trends, and overall economic pessimism are creating severe strain on company staffing.” As a result, businesses are tightening their expenses, slowing down recruitment, and issuing layoff notifications.
The report identifies initiatives led by the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) as the primary catalyst for the increased job cut announcements in 2025.
That includes federal government jobs, contractors and private nonprofit layoffs prompted by federal funding cuts and terminated contracts.
The report also cited economic and market conditions as a reason for increased layoffs.
Additionally, the report said that retail job cuts closed in on 76,000 for the year, marking the second-highest industry for job cuts behind the federal government, and accounted for a whopping 274% increase over 2024.
Store closures contributed to job losses, with some retailers closing locations amid economic pressures, and others forced to file for bankruptcy and shut down operations entirely.
Well-known department store retailers such as JCPenney and Macy’s announced store closures in 2025.
Forever 21, a fashion retailer, announced the closure of hundreds of stores as it winds down its business, primarily due to competition from Shein and Temu.
Rite-Aid, Walgreens and Party City also announced closures.
Craft retailer Joann announced in February it would close all its stores following its second bankruptcy filing within one year.
The store, famous for its assortment of fabrics, once operated over 800 locations in the U.S.
All of its remaining stores, following its latest bankruptcy filing, closed by the end of May.
