from Challenger Gray and Christmas
Employers at U.S.-based companies announced plans to cut 52,988 jobs from their payrolls in January, 20.7 percent higher than the 43,884 announced in December.
January’s total is 18.7 percent higher than the 44,653 cuts announced in the same month last year. While it is lower than the average of 86,347 cuts announced during the month of January since 1993, it is higher than 20 of the last 24 monthly totals.
Said Andrew Challenger, Vice President of Challenger, Gray & Christmas, Inc.:
Employers are continuing the trend of reducing staff that we saw in the fourth quarter of last year, as several industries pivot to emerging technologies. Companies are battling economic uncertainty and, while consumer confidence was high, consumer spending missed estimates at major retailers during the holiday season.
In fact, Retail leads all sectors in job cuts in January with 22,327. That is 45 percent higher than the 15,378 cuts announced in this sector last January. Most are related to Gymboree’s plan to liquidate remaining stores in the U.S. and Canada, costing a reported 10,000 jobs.
Meanwhile, home improvement retailer Lowe’s announced it would hire 50,000 seasonal workers for the spring, as well as 10,000 permanent roles and 6,000 managers.
Adds Challenger:
Retail is going through a transformation that may cost many jobs, but is also creating many jobs. The new retail position is much more than giving change and stocking shelves. Retail workers must be tech-savvy.
Financial firms announced the second-highest number of planned cuts with 4,230, followed by the Automotive sector, which announced 3,949, and Entertainment/Leisure companies that announced 3,533 planned cuts.
Note:
- Challenger has updated the names of two industries to better describe the companies that are tracked therein. “Computer” will now be labeled “Technology” and “Commodities” will now be called “Mining.”
- Challenger is also breaking out Financial Tech firms, which will be referred to as “FinTech.” These changes are represented in Table 2 (Job Cuts by Industry) and Table 7 (Announced Hiring Plans).
Financial firms announced the second-highest number of planned cuts with 4,230, followed by the Automotive sector, which announced 3,949, and Entertainment/Leisure companies that announced 3,533 planned cuts.
CHALLENGER, GRAY & CHRISTMAS, INC.
JOB CUT ANNOUNCEMENT REPORT
Table 1: EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
| 2019 | 2018 | |
Retail | 22,327 | 15,378 | |
Financial | 4,230 | 637 | |
Automotive | 3,949 | 703 | |
Entertainment/Leisure | 3,533 | 440 | |
Services | 2,530 | 3,212 | |
MONTH-BY-MONTH TOTALS | |||
| 2019 | 2018 | |
January | 52,988 | 44,653 | |
February | 35,369 | ||
March | 60,357 | ||
April | 36,081 | ||
May | 31,517 | ||
June | 37,202 | ||
July | 27,122 | ||
August | 38,472 | ||
September | 55,285 | ||
October | 75,644 | ||
November | 53,073 | ||
December | 43,884 | ||
TOTAL | 52,988 | 538,659 | |
Some reductions are identified by employers as workers who will take early retirement offers or other special considerations to leave the company. | |||
LAYOFF LOCATION | |||
Year To Date | |||
California |
| 16,483 | |
Illinois |
| 11,129 | |
New York |
| 5,950 | |
Nevada |
| 2,160 | |
Colorado |
| 2,102 | |
Listings are identified by the location of the layoff or corporate headquarters as stated in announcement. | |||
Table 2: JOB CUTS BY INDUSTRY
| 18-Jan | 18-Dec | 19-Jan |
Aerospace/Defense | 295 | 3,271 | 1,735 |
Apparel | 0 | 0 | 122 |
Automotive | 703 | 2,058 | 3,949 |
Chemical | 65 | 151 | 247 |
Construction | 69 | 0 | 95 |
Consumer Products | 7,158 | 949 | 2,074 |
Education | 135 | 603 | 58 |
Electronics | 571 | 241 | 0 |
Energy | 1,129 | 717 | 247 |
Entertainment/Leisure | 440 | 1,591 | 3,533 |
Financial | 637 | 848 | 4,230 |
FinTech | N/A | N/A | 186 |
Food | 1,286 | 2,409 | 1,339 |
Government | 328 | 1,157 | 661 |
Health Care/Products | 6,531 | 4,665 | 1,780 |
Industrial Goods | 964 | 2,684 | 2,283 |
Insurance | 428 | 0 | 370 |
Legal | 0 | 0 | 0 |
Media | 855 | 3,599 | 1,279 |
Mining | 153 | 60 | 144 |
Non-Profit | 36 | 193 | 53 |
Pharmaceutical | 976 | 5,135 | 539 |
Real Estate | 55 | 110 | 78 |
Retail | 15,378 | 2,059 | 22,327 |
Services | 3,212 | 6,352 | 2,530 |
Technology | 756 | 1,008 | 638 |
Telecommunications | 951 | 50 | 461 |
Transportation | 1,472 | 3,463 | 1,315 |
Utility | 70 | 84 | 0 |
Warehousing | 0 | 427 | 715 |
TOTAL | 44,653 | 43,884 | 52,988 |
Table 3: JOB CUTS BY REGION, STATE
EAST | January |
New York | 5,950 |
New Jersey | 1,001 |
Pennsylvania | 742 |
Maryland | 273 |
Maine | 245 |
Massachusetts | 143 |
Connecticut | 0 |
Dist. of Columbia | 0 |
Rhode Island | 0 |
New Hampshire | 0 |
Vermont | 0 |
Delaware | 0 |
TOTAL | 8,354 |
MIDWEST | January |
Illinois | 11,129 |
Wisconsin | 1,608 |
Ohio | 726 |
Missouri | 446 |
Minnesota | 237 |
Kansas | 93 |
Indiana | 50 |
Iowa | 40 |
Michigan | 0 |
Nebraska | 0 |
TOTAL | 14,329 |
Table 3 (cont’d): JOB CUTS BY REGION, STATE
WEST | January |
California | 16,483 |
Nevada | 2,160 |
Colorado | 2,102 |
Texas | 1,825 |
Washington | 330 |
Wyoming | 101 |
Oregon | 81 |
South Dakota | 70 |
Alaska | 70 |
Utah | 60 |
Arizona | 54 |
Oklahoma | 0 |
New Mexico | 0 |
Idaho | 0 |
North Dakota | 0 |
Hawaii | 0 |
Montana | 0 |
TOTAL | 23,336 |
SOUTH | January |
Georgia | 1,943 |
Virginia | 1,245 |
Louisiana | 864 |
Mississippi | 754 |
North Carolina | 750 |
Florida | 635 |
Alabama | 459 |
Tennessee | 288 |
Arkansas | 31 |
South Carolina | 0 |
Kentucky | 0 |
West Virginia | 0 |
TOTAL | 6,969 |
Table 4: JOB CUTS BY REASON
| January |
Bankruptcy | 19,984 |
Restructuring | 10,055 |
Closing | 7,492 |
Cost-Cutting | 6,968 |
No Reason Provided | 3,097 |
Contract Loss | 2,459 |
Technological Update | 900 |
Voluntary Severance/Buyouts | 801 |
Acquisition/Merger | 546 |
Relocation | 253 |
Relocation Overseas | 160 |
Demand Downturn | 158 |
Financial Losses | 65 |
Contract Dispute | 50 |
TOTAL | 52,988 |
Table 5: QUARTER BY QUARTER
| Q1 | Q2 | Q3 | Q4 | TOTAL |
1989 | 9,850 | 10,100 | 24,085 | 67,250 | 111,285 |
1990 | 107,052 | 87,686 | 49,104 | 72,205 | 316,047 |
1991 | 110,056 | 76,622 | 147,507 | 221,107 | 555,292 |
1992* | 110,815 | 85,486 | 151,849 | 151,850 | 500,000 |
1993 | 170,615 | 84,263 | 194,486 | 165,822 | 615,186 |
1994 | 192,572 | 107,421 | 117,706 | 98,370 | 516,069 |
1995 | 97,716 | 114,583 | 89,718 | 137,865 | 439,882 |
1996 | 168,695 | 101,818 | 91,784 | 114,850 | 477,147 |
1997 | 134,257 | 51,309 | 95,930 | 152,854 | 434,350 |
1998 | 139,140 | 131,303 | 161,013 | 246,339 | 677,795 |
1999 | 210,521 | 173,027 | 173,181 | 118,403 | 675,132 |
2000 | 141,853 | 81,568 | 168,875 | 221,664 | 613,960 |
2001 | 406,806 | 370,556 | 594,326 | 585,188 | 1,956,876 |
2002 | 478,905 | 292,393 | 269,090 | 426,435 | 1,466,823 |
2003 | 355,795 | 274,737 | 241,548 | 364,346 | 1,236,426 |
2004 | 262,840 | 209,895 | 251,585 | 315,415 | 1,039,735 |
2005 | 287,134 | 251,140 | 245,378 | 288,402 | 1,072,054 |
2006 | 255,878 | 180,580 | 202,771 | 200,593 | 839,822 |
2007 | 195,986 | 197,513 | 194,095 | 180,670 | 768,264 |
2008 | 200,656 | 275,292 | 287,142 | 460,903 | 1,223,993 |
2009 | 562,510 | 318,165 | 240,233 | 151,122 | 1,272,030 |
2010 | 181,183 | 116,494 | 113,595 | 118,701 | 529,973 |
2011 | 130,749 | 115,057 | 233,258 | 127,018 | 606,082 |
2012 | 143,094 | 139,997 | 102,910 | 137,361 | 523,362 |
2013 | 145,041 | 113,891 | 128,452 | 121,667 | 509,051 |
2014 | 121,341 | 124,693 | 117,374 | 119,763 | 483,171 |
2015 | 140,214 | 147,458 | 205,759 | 105,079 | 598,510 |
2016 | 180,920 | 132,834 | 121,858 | 91,303 | 526,915 |
2017 | 126,201 | 100,799 | 94,478 | 97,292 | 418,770 |
2018 | 140,379 | 104,800 | 120,879 | 172,601 | 538,659 |
AVG | 196,959 | 152,383 | 174,332 | 195,907 |
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*Estimate based on half-year total. Challenger began tracking job cut data in 1993. Before that, it was tabulated by an independent newsletter no longer published.
Copyright 2019 Challenger, Gray & Christmas, Inc.
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