Outplacement firm Challenger, Gray & Christmas said Thursday that companies planned to cut 97,006 jobs in May, up from 83,387 in April and 93,816 a year ago.
The May total was the highest for the month since May 2020 at the start of the pandemic and was driven by 38,242 layoff intentions in the technology industry. The transportation sector had the second highest layoff intentions with 6,909.
The most cited reason for layoffs was artificial intelligence, which accounted for 38,579 of the monthly total, followed by market and economic conditions with 16,587 of the total.
"On top of the headline AI story, we're seeing a sharp rise in cuts tied to acquisitions and mergers and a jump in bankruptcy-related losses, which tells me companies are restructuring aggressively as they reposition for an AI-driven economy," said Andy Challenger, the company's chief revenue officer.
There were 19,536 hiring plans announced in May, up from the 10,049 hiring plans in April and 9,683 plans in May 2025. Interestingly, the technology sector was also the largest hiring sector, with 11,250 intentions.