When it comes to layoffs, there’s a mix of good and bad news. The good news is, U.S. layoff announcements were down as a whole in September, according to the latest data.
But when job cuts are broken down by industry, things weren’t as rosy for tech. In fact, tech company layoff announcements were 77% higher in September than the month before. Here’s what you need to know.
Overall layoffs fell in September, but rose in the tech sector
A new report from outplacement firm Challenger, Gray & Christmas sheds light on the job cuts that have been a staple of headlines this year.
The firm’s latest report examines the September layoff numbers, which revealed stark contrasts.
On the positive side, job cut announcements for the month by U.S.-based employers were actually down 18% from the month earlier. In August, companies announced 52,881 job cuts. In September, companies announced nearly 10,000 fewer cuts—just 43,281.
Now for the bad news: Unfortunately, those falling layoff numbers don’t cut across all industries. As a matter of fact, multiple industries saw job-cut figures rise between August and September.
The worst was in the tech industry. Between August and September, U.S.-based tech companies announced job cuts equating to a layoff increase of 77%.
Challenger, Gray & Christmas says that in August, technology companies announced cuts totaling 6,103. In September, that figure rose to 10,799.
Worse for the tech industry is its year-to-date cuts when compared to the previous year for the same period.
By September 2025, tech companies had announced 107,878 layoffs for the then-calendar year.
But in 2026, tech companies have announced 165,925 job cuts through September. That’s an increase of 54%.
And when it comes to September in particular, some of the biggest names in tech announced cuts. By a large margin, the most tech layoffs came from Uber, which, at the beginning of September, announced it would cut 10% of its workforce, or roughly 3,300 roles.
Other major tech companies that announced significant job cuts in September included Microsoft, and PayPal.
September job cuts by industry
Of course, it wasn’t just the tech sector that was cutting jobs in September. Challenger, Gray & Christmas’ report highlights that other industries have also seen an increase in layoffs during the month (and year).
According to the report, the industries with the most layoffs in September are:
- Technology (10,799 cuts)
- Food (7,326 cuts)
- Non-Profit (4,742 cuts)
- Services (3,306 cuts)
- Transportation (2,151 cuts)
- Health Care/Products (1,780 cuts)
- Media & News (266 cuts)
As for why tech and these other industries are cutting jobs, the report shows that everyone’s favorite culprit—artificial intelligence—isn’t actually the primary factor for September.
“Artificial Intelligence was the fifth-most cited reason with 3,961 cuts in September, about 9% of the month’s total,” according to Challenger, Gray & Christmas.
“Market and Economic Conditions” was the number one reason for job cuts in September, accounting for 20% of all cuts. “Closings,” “Demand Downturn,” and “Restructuring” came in second, third, and fourth place, ahead of AI.
But when looking at the year-to-date as a whole, well, those fears about AI impacting our jobs seem to be coming true.
“So far this year, AI has been cited in 120,136 job cut announcements, approximately 21% of all cuts, and it remains the leading reason year-to-date,” Challenger, Gray & Christmas notes.