Layoffs 2026

DrVenture

https://www.cnbc.com/2026/02/05/layoff-and-hiring-announcements-hit-their-worst-january-levels-since-2009-challenger-says.html

Layoffs in January were the highest to start a year since 2009, Challenger says


•U.S. employers announced 108,435 layoffs for the month, up 118% from the same period a year ago and 205% from December 2025. The total marked the highest for any January since 2009.

•At the same time, companies announced just 5,306 new hires, also the lowest January since 2009, which is when Challenger, Gray & Christmas began tracking such data.

•Also, job openings fell sharply in December to 6.54 million, to their lowest since September 2020. Available jobs are down by more than 900,000 just since October.

Coupled with the market gyrations, this is not a great start.

"In a separate report Thursday, the Bureau of Labor Statistics reported that job openings fell sharply in December to 6.54 million, a slide of 386,000 on a monthly basis and down more than 900,000 from the October level. Openings are now at their lowest since September 2020."

bee

It will be interesting to see how we as humans evolve through these changes inside and outside the workplace.

Optimistically:

Whether AI brings prosperity along with disruption—or only disruption—depends on choices made now by employers and educators preparing people for change and by workers adapting to new tools and new ways of working. Technological innovation is advancing rapidly; the question is whether our institutions can keep pace. If we manage the transition well, AI will not diminish human work; it will elevate it.

how-workers-will-adapt-in-the-ai-era

Shostakovich

Would be interesting to know which sectors the layoffs have occurred in. I suspect Tech has seen a disproportionate share of the bloodbath, but that's mostly based on my sense of headline news.

DrVenture

Glad that you asked, I was about to search for that!

https://www.cnn.com/2026/02/05/economy/us-jobs-data-layoffs-hiring#:~:text=Layoff announcements hit an unsavory milestone in January&text=The Spheres at Amazon headquarters in Seattle on January 29, 2026.&text=About 40% of January's layoff,and 30,000 job cuts, respectively.

"About 40% of January’s layoff announcements can be tied to two firms: Amazon and UPS, which outlined plans for 16,000 and 30,000 job cuts, respectively. UPS’s plans to cut up to 30,000 jobs were tied to its ongoing wind-down of its delivery arrangement with Amazon, executives for the shipping giant said last week during an earnings call.

The January layoff announcements tracked by Challenger were limited to five industries – transportation, technology, health care and health products, chemical and financial, according to the report."

DrVenture

A layoff tracking website:

https://intellizence.com/insights/layoff-downsizing/major-companies-that-announced-mass-layoffs/