Layoffs among employers based in the United States increased nearly 400% between the first three months of last year and this year.
Economic turmoil and a desire for increased cost efficiency are primary causes for employers dismissing large shares of their employees, according to a Thursday report from executive outplacement firm Challenger, Gray & Christmas. Layoffs have accordingly risen 396% between the first quarter of 2022 and the first quarter of 2023.
“We know companies are approaching 2023 with caution, though the economy is still creating jobs,” Challenger, Gray & Christmas Senior Vice President Andrew Challenger said in a statement. “With rate hikes continuing and companies’ reigning in costs, the large-scale layoffs we are seeing will likely continue.”
Technology companies are responsible for 102,000 of the 270,000 positions nixed by employers, marking the most severe layoffs in the sector since 168,000 workers were dismissed in the 2001 dot-com bubble. Overall layoffs in 2023 are therefore on pace to exceed the total layoffs for the American technology sector at the most tumultuous time in its history.
