U.S. employers have announced more than one million job cuts in 2025 as restructuring, AI adoption, and tariffs intensified layoffs. November saw 71,321 cuts, bringing the year’s total to 1.17 million — the highest since 2020 and 54% above last year. Verizon’s 13,000-plus reductions and AI-related cuts across tech led the surge, while tariffs drove more than 2,000 November layoffs. Planned hiring fell sharply to 497,151, down 35% from 2024.
