Insights

Chart of the month

AI-cited US layoffs peaked in May and have cooled since

Employers cited AI for 120,136 US job cuts in the first nine months of 2026, about 21 percent of all announced cuts and still the leading stated reason year to date, versus 54,836 in all of 2025. But the monthly pace peaked at 38,579 in May, 40 percent of that month's total, and has fallen since: AI dropped to the fourth-most-cited reason in August and was tied to 3,961 cuts, about 9 percent of the total, in September.

Source: Challenger, Gray & Christmas monthly Job Cut Announcement Reports, January through September 2026, as covered by CFO Dive, HR Dive, and Tech Times.

Figures are Challenger, Gray & Christmas's own reported counts of job cuts for which employers explicitly cited AI, except August (3.462 thousand), which is derived by subtracting the reported July year-to-date total (112,713) from the reported August year-to-date total (116,175) and may differ slightly from the firm's own monthly figure if prior months were revised. The series likely understates AI's role: many employers cite 'cost-cutting' or 'restructuring' instead, and only stated reasons in US announcements are counted.