Tech layoffs hit a brutal new peak in October, with employers slashing 33,281 jobs in a single month, according to fresh data from executive coaching firm Challenger, Gray & Christmas.
The October figure dwarfs September’s 5,639 cuts and marks the highest monthly total for the sector since 2003. Across the United States, year-to-date job eliminations have reached their worst level since the pandemic hit in 2020.
The broader picture looks equally grim. Tech firms have shed 141,159 positions so far in 2025, a sharp rise from 120,470 during the same stretch last year. Meanwhile, overall job creation nationwide has slumped to its lowest point in years.
Andy Challenger, workplace expert and chief revenue officer at the firm, pointed to several converging pressures. Some industries still struggle to correct course after the pandemic hiring surge. But artificial intelligence adoption, weakening consumer and corporate spending, and climbing costs now drive deeper belt-tightening. Hiring freezes have followed.
As a result, displaced workers face mounting obstacles. Those laid off now take significantly longer to secure new employment, Challenger noted, a dynamic that could further loosen the labor market.
The human toll has become undeniable. Over the past two years, some of tech’s largest names have hemorrhaged thousands of employees. Many former workers report difficulty affording essentials like food, gas, and housing. Even veteran recruiters have accepted exhausting retail or catering jobs simply to stay afloat. Older job seekers and those with layoffs on their records, regardless of prior performance, encounter the steepest resistance.
Ghost job postings, ads for roles that don’t actually exist, have compounded the frustration. Navigating an already difficult hiring landscape has become harder still.
Challenger offered little hope for a rapid turnaround. While interest rate cuts and a strong November performance could theoretically spark late-season hiring, the firm does not anticipate a robust seasonal job market in 2025.
