New numbers from U.S.-based employers show January was the worst month for job cuts since 2009, according to a report from Challenger, Gray & Christmas.
A total of 108,435 jobs were cut, according to the report, marking a 205 percent increase from December. Employers said contract loss, market and economic conditions and restructuring were the reasons for cutting jobs.
“Generally, we see a high number of job cuts in the first quarter, but this is a high total for January. It means most of these plans were set at the end of 2025, signaling employers are less-than-optimistic about the outlook for 2026,” Andy Challenger, workplace expert and chief revenue officer for Challenger, Gray & Christmas, said in a statement.
The transportation industry faced the most cuts, with 31,243 positions severed. A majority of those losses resulted from UPS’s agreement to reduce the number of packages it delivers for Amazon.
Amazon itself cut 16,000 positions in an attempt to restructure management. A total of 22,291 jobs were cut in the technology sector.
Health care companies saw 17,107 job cuts in the first month of the year, reflecting the largest decrease in jobs in six years.
“Healthcare providers and hospital systems are grappling with inflation and high labor costs. Lower reimbursements from Medicaid and Medicare are also hitting hospital systems,” Challenger said.
“These pressures are leading to job cuts, as well as other cutting measures, such as some pay and benefits,” he added.
Tariffs were credited for 294 job cuts in January.
