A barbaric number of layoffs caused by Elon Musk’s DOGE so far this year: Nearly half of all job cuts nationwide
Job cuts so far this year are up 87% compared to the same period last year according to a new report, reaching the highest year-to-date total since 2020.
So far this year, 602,493 workers have been given pink slips. According to ‘The Challenger Report’ by leading outplacement firm Challenger, Gray & Christmas, that is the highest year-to-date total for the same period since 2020. Job cuts so far this year are up 87% compared to the same period last year according to a new report.
Driving nearly half of these job cuts, 290,117 or 48% of the total, were caused by DOGE in one form or another. 283,172 of them were directly attributed to “DOGE Actions” and the leading reason listed by companies. An additional 6,945 layoffs through April 2025 were related to “DOGE Downstream Impact,” primarily at non-profits and education organizations.
The reason given for next highest number of layoffs, 95,348 job cuts, was “economic uncertainty, consumer spending, and trade difficulties” impacting US companies. Restructuring accounted for 67,627 of the head count reduction at firms.
Trump’s tariffs are beginning to impact employment as well. Of the 1,413 cuts in 2025 tariffs were cited as the reason, 1,350 occurred in April.
April's #ChallengerReport shows a slowdown in job cut plans - though it remains on the high side. With the exception of this year, April's total is higher than any month since 2020.
— ChallengerGray (@ChallengerGray) May 1, 2025
Read our full report now: https://t.co/xwmGsKhPF0 pic.twitter.com/ORgd88yviO
Where are the job cuts occurring?
Government jobs account for the majority of the cut so far this year with over 282,000. Nearly all of those are attributable to DOGE-related cost cutting. That is a whopping 680% more than in 2024 in the sector through April. “Economic Conditions” and “Cost-Cutting” were the other reasons given for layoffing government employees.
It should come as no surprise that the East region saw a dramatic increase in layoffs, largely due to job cuts in the District of Columbia. The South region saw layoffs jump 37% from last year while the job cuts in the Midwest region were up 15% from 2024. Only the West region reported a drop in job cuts with a 6% decrease.
“Though the Government cuts are front and center, we saw job cuts across sectors last month,” said Andrew Challenger, Senior Vice President at Challenger, Gray & Christmas. “Generally, companies are citing the economy and new technology.”
“Employers are slow to hire and limiting hiring plans as they wait and see what will happen with trade, supply chain, and consumer spending,” he added.
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