AI drove 25% of job cuts in March

Layoffs rose sharply in March, and a quarter of these job losses were due to AI. Job cuts rose about 25% in March reaching 60,620 up from 48,307 cuts the month before. 

The new data comes from outplacement and executive coaching firm Challenger, Gray & Christmas, who released the report on Thursday. While cuts could be seen across industries, more than 52,000 tech jobs have been cut so far this year with 18,720 happening last month. 

Reductions took place at major technology companies like Meta, Oracle, Block, and more. However, the report explained that the number was driven up significantly by the workforce reduction at Dell Technologies (DELL), making the total the highest seen since 2023 in the technology sector.

“Removing the wave of federal layoffs announced in February and March of last year, job cut announcements in 2026 are closely following the pattern of 2025, said Andy Challenger, chief revenue officer for Challenger, Gray & Christmas in the report. “Last year, it was Government, Retail, and Technology. This year, it’s Technology, Transportation, and Healthcare.”

While the new report may fuel worries that AI is taking jobs, the loss in jobs is down about 78% from March 2025, when 275,240 cuts were made. Also, in the last week of March, weekly jobless claims actually approached a two-year low. 

In a response to the report, Rathin Sinha, a tech founder, CEO and president of America’s Job Exchange, explained the major takeaways in a post on LinkedIn. “Roles are not disappearing wholesale—but they are being redefined,” Sinha wrote. “In a world where AI can do the job, the role of humans is orchestration. Putting the things together—the system thinking. Not project management, but putting things together for a business to deliver on its unique value proposition,” the CEO continued.

In the wake of job cuts and companies leaning harder on AI, the report urged employees to focus on upskilling and reskilling. In other words, becoming experts at integrating AI into workflows. It also noted that companies are prioritizing technology, even if it means a loss of jobs. 

“Companies are shifting budgets toward AI investments at the expense of jobs,” Challenger explained. “The actual replacing of roles can be seen in technology companies, where AI can replace coding functions. Other industries are testing the limits of this new technology, and while it can’t replace jobs completely, it is costing jobs,” he said.

Next to the technology sector, transportation had the second-highest number of job losses, with 32,241, up a staggering 703% from the same period in 2025.

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