Companies cite AI as primary driver for job cuts

AI led all reasons for job cuts in April for the second month in a row. Challenger, Gray & Christmas notes that U.S. employers shed more than 83,000 jobs in April, a 37% increase from March. Tech companies alone slashed more than 33,000 jobs, bringing the total to more than 85,000 since the start of the year, a 33% hike from 2025. AI has been cited for almost 50,000 job cuts across all industries this year, or 16% of all job cuts, but that number is rising month-to-month. “Technology companies continue to announce large-scale cuts and are leading all industries in layoff announcement,” Challenger, Gray & Christmas Chief Revenue Officer Any Challenger says. “Regardless of whether individual jobs are being replaced by AI, the money for those roles is.”