Employment fell to its highest January level since 2009 as layoffs increased
Global advisor to CEOs and corporate boards Ram Charan joins Mornings with Maria to discuss the rise of AI in American businesses and the impact of technology on jobs.
announced US employers termination of employment rose sharply in the month of January and reached its highest level since 2009, a new report said.
Global coaching and training company Challenger, Gray & Christmas found that employers announced 108,435 job cuts in January – an increase from the 49,795 cuts announced in the same month last year. The job cuts are up 205% since December, when 35,553 layoffs were announced.
This January he saw many layoffs of the month since 2009, when 241,749 cuts were announced. It was also the highest monthly number since October 2025, when there were 153,074 layoffs.
“Normally, we see a high number of job cuts in the first quarter, but this is a high number for January. It means that most of these plans were planned at the end of 2025, which indicates that employers are not very optimistic about the outlook for 2026,” said Andy Challenger, workplace expert and chief income officer of Challenger, Gray & Christmas.
PRIVATE SECTOR CREATED 22,000 JOBS IN JANUARY, BELOW EXPECTED
The increase in staffing in January was driven by job cuts announced at UPS and Amazon. (Lindsey Nicholson/UCG/Universal Images Group)
The transport sector had the highest number of job cuts in the month of January with 31,243 announced, most of them from Logistics giant UPS announces 30,000 job cuts as it pulls back from handling Amazon shipments.
Tech firms announced 22,291 layoffs in January, most of them from Amazon, which announced 16,000 layoffs as it restructures its management structure.
“[Amazon] CEO Andy JassyLike many CEOs recently, he has said that AI will cost jobs in the coming years, but these cuts appear to be due more to hiring and downsizing than to new technologies,” noted Challenger.
TO SUPPORT OVER 30,000 JOBS IN DEEP PROGRAM
UPS has announced 30,000 job cuts as it divests its business with Amazon. (Kevin Carter)
Healthcare companies and health product manufacturers announced 17,107 job cuts in January, the most in the sector since April 2020 when 19,453 cuts were recorded.
“Healthcare providers and hospital systems are facing inflation and high labor costs. Low reimbursements from Medicaid and Medicare are also hitting hospital systems. These pressures are leading to job cuts, as well as other cuts, such as certain pay and benefits,” said Challenger.
Chemical producers announced 4,701 4,701 cuts in January, which was mainly driven by the announcement in the Dow between AI and automation.
AMAZON TO LET OFF 16,000 JOBS AS IT LOOKS TO INVEST IN AI, ELIMINATE ‘BUREAUCRACY’
Amazon has announced 16,000 layoffs amid restructuring. (Matthias Balk / photo alliance via Getty Images / Getty Images)
The main reason companies announced layoffs in January was the loss of contracts, cited in relation to 30,784 layoffs, while market and economic conditions followed by 28,392 cuts.
Other reasons include restructuring (20,044 layoffs), closings (12,738) and artificial intelligence (7,624).
Challenger noted that it’s hard to say how much impact AI is having on layoffs, saying, “We know leaders are talking about AI, many companies want to use it in practice, and the market seems to be rewarding companies talking about it.”
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The report also found that employers announced 5,306 hiring plans in January, the lowest monthly total since Challenger began tracking the metric in 2009.
That number is down from 6,089 hiring plans announced in the same month last year, and 10,496 announced in December.
