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The layoffs impacted 102,943 workers, a more than two-fold jump
from December and an over five-times surge from a year earlier,
according to the report from employment firm Challenger, Gray &
Christmas Inc.
Companies from Microsoft Corp to Amazon.com Inc and Goldman
Sachs Group Inc cut thousands of jobs last month in a bid to
ride out a demand downturn as consumer and corporate spending
shrinks due to high inflation and rising interest rates.
"We're now on the other side of the hiring frenzy of the
pandemic years," said Andrew Challenger, labor expert and Senior
Vice President of the employment firm. "Companies are preparing
for an economic slowdown, cutting workforce and slowing hiring."
The push to correct pandemic excesses has been most evident in
the tech sector, which slashed 41,829 jobs last month, the
highest across industries.
Retailers, second after tech, cut 13,000 positions in January,
compared with virtually no layoffs a year earlier. Financial
firms, meanwhile, shed 10,603 jobs last month, up from 696 roles
a year earlier.
With the Federal Reserve expected to continue on its rate-hiking
path to stamp down inflation that is still on the higher side
after several rounds of rate increases, analysts said more
layoffs could be in store for U.S. companies.
"For companies that ramped up headcount over the past few years,
they will likely shrink their workforce as the economy is headed
towards a rough patch," OANDA analyst Edward Moya said.
(Reporting by Samrhitha Arunasalam in Bengaluru; Editing by
Shinjini Ganguli)
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