October’s Job Losses the Highest Monthly Total in 20 Years

The 153,074 job cuts in October, up 175% from the layoffs in October 2024, is the highest monthly job losses since October 2003 and makes the year-to-date total the highest since 2020, according to a report from outplacement firm Challenger, Gray & Christmas.

This October’s total also is a 183% increase from the 54,064 job cuts announced in September.

Cost-cutting was the top reason employers cited for job reductions in October, responsible for 50,437 announced layoffs. Artificial intelligence was the second, cited for 48,414 job cuts this year.

“Some industries are correcting after the hiring boom of the pandemic, but this comes as AI adoption, softening consumer and corporate spending, and rising costs drive belt-tightening and hiring freezes,” said Andy Challenger, workplace expert and chief revenue officer for Challenger, Gray & Christmas. “Those laid off now are finding it harder to quickly secure new roles, which could further loosen the labor market.”

Through October, employers have announced 1,099,500 job cuts, an increase of 65% from the same period last year and already 44% more than those job losses in all of 2024. Year-to-date job cuts are at the highest level since 2020 when 2,304,755 cuts were announced through October.

The Challenger, Gray & Christmas report, published Nov. 6, did not provide figures specific to the food & beverage industry -- although we’ll mention consumer products a few paragraphs from now – but here are some of the headlines FoodProcessing.com has carried in just the past two months:

Nestle To Cut 16,000 Jobs, Most White Collar, Over Two Years

PepsiCo to Close Two Frito-Lay Facilities in Orlando, Lay Off 500 Workers

General Mills Closing Three Plants, Two in Pet Foods, All in Missouri

Molson Coors Restructuring Americas Business; Eliminating 400 Salaried Positions

Perdue to Eliminate Nearly 300 Jobs in Washington, Indiana, Turkey Plant

Hormel Foods Announces Corporate Restructuring, 250 Office Layoffs

Heineken 'Reshaping' Headquarters Jobs To Unlock Opportunities

Unilever Expects to ‘Refresh’ (Replace) 25% of Top 200 Global Managers

Coffee Holding Co. to Close Facility in North Andover, Massachusetts

Muskegon, Michigan, Frozen Bread Facility Closed; 171 Employees Impacted

Cargill to Lay Off 80 Employees at Corp. HQ

And those are just since Sept. 1.

Back to the Challenger report: Not only did individual companies announce large layoff totals in October, but a higher number of companies announced plans for future job cuts. Challenger counted nearly 450 individual job cut plans in October, compared to just under 400 in September. March, which had the largest number of job cuts this year primarily due to cuts at the Federal level, saw roughly 350 individual announcements.

Warehousing led all industrial categories in October terminations, announcing 47,878. Technology was second, as companies restructure amid AI integration, slower demand, and efficiency pressures.

Consumer products companies – which would include food & beverage -- announced 3,409 job cuts in October, up from 1,983 in September. For the year, the sector has announced 41,033 layoffs, up 21% from the same period in 2024, as companies adjust production and workforce levels amid softening demand and changing consumer preferences, said Challenger.

DOGE – Trump’s Dept. of Government Efficiency – and its impact remains the leading reason for job cuts in 2025, cited in 293,753 planned layoffs so far this year. This includes direct reductions to the federal workforce and its contractors. An additional 20,976 cuts have been attributed to downstream DOGE impact, which reflects the loss of federal funding to private and non-profit entities.