https://www.cnbc.com/2026/02/05/layoff-and-hiring-announcements-hit-their-worst-january-levels-since-2009-challenger-says.htmlLayoffs 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."
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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."
https://intellizence.com/insights/layoff-downsizing/major-companies-that-announced-mass-layoffs/