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Almost 65,000 Job Cuts Were Announced In April—And AI Was Blamed For The Most Losses Ever

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Nearly 65,000 people were cut from their jobs at U.S. based companies in April according to a report released Thursday by career services firm Challenger, Gray & Christmas , with continued cuts in the technology sector, a large layoff at Tesla and the replacement of jobs by artificial intelligence largely to blame.

Key Facts

At 64,789, April’s job cuts were down significantly from the 90,000 cuts announced in March and slightly down from the 66,995 announced in April of 2023.

So far this year, almost 325,000 jobs have been slashed, down 4.6% from the jobs that had been eliminated by this time last year, according to the report.

Tesla’s announcement that it would cut roughly 14,000 employees—about 10% of its workforce—made automotive the single sector with the largest number of cuts last month, and automakers have cut more than 20,000 jobs this year, twice as much as were cut by April of 2023.

Technology remains the sector with the highest number of job cuts on the year at 47,436. Of the cuts across sectors, 800 lost jobs were blamed on AI, the highest number of layoffs citing the reason since May of 2023.

Employers announced plans to hire 9,802 new workers in April, bringing the total number of new jobs announced this year to 46,597, the lowest total in the first four months of the year since 2016.

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Surprising Fact

The Challenger report this month said 80 cut jobs could be directly blamed on Texas Senate Bill 17, which prohibited higher education institutions in the state from participating in diversity, equity, and inclusion initiatives. Among those cuts were 60 employees who lost their job at the University of Texas alone. The college announced the cuts in a message to campus last month.

Big Number

5 months. That was the average duration of unemployment in March, compared to 4.4 months during the same period in 2023. Unemployment is expected to rise slightly to 3.9%.

Contra

Despite the slow hiring, the unemployment rate has remained largely unchanged over the last year. Unemployment was 3.8% in March, down slightly from 3.9% in February, but continuing a trend that hasn’t seen the rate rise above 4% in 26 consecutive months. The Bureau of Labor Statistics will release its monthly jobs report on Friday.

Further Reading

ForbesUniversity Of Texas Laying Off Staff To Comply With State’s DEI BanBy Michael T. NietzelForbesTesla Continues Its Downfall With Job CutsBy Megan Poinski
ForbesWorker Confidence Falls As More Layoffs Blame OverhiringBy Maria Gracia Santillana Linares

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