AI Blamed for 26% of U.S. Layoffs in April: Is Your Job Next?

U.S. companies have named artificial intelligence as the leading driver of job cuts for the second consecutive month, according to a new analysis by Challenger, Gray & Christmas.

In April, employers announced 83,387 layoffs — a 38% increase from March. AI accounted for 26% of those cuts, making it the most frequently cited reason for workforce reductions for a second month. So far this year, 49,135 layoffs have been attributed to AI, ranking it as the third-largest cause of planned job losses overall.

Major firms including Google, Amazon, and Meta are pouring billions into AI, particularly in the construction of large-scale data centers. In April, Meta announced it would slash about 10% of its workforce, citing increased expenditures on AI. CEO Mark Zuckerberg predicted that "2026 is going to be the year that AI starts to dramatically change the way that we work."

Employee unease is growing. An April survey by The Associated Press found that 18% of U.S. workers believe their current job is likely to be eliminated within the next five years due to new technology, automation, robots, or AI.

The technology sector was hardest hit with 33,361 job cuts in April, bringing the year-to-date total to 85,411 — a 33% increase from the same period in 2025 and the highest since 2023.

"Technology companies continue to announce large-scale cuts and are leading all industries in layoff announcements," said Andy Challenger, chief revenue officer at Challenger, Gray & Christmas. "They are also often citing AI spend and innovation. Regardless of whether individual jobs are being replaced by AI, the money for those roles is."

Other industries reporting significant layoffs in April include the government sector (9,149 cuts), warehousing (5,743 cuts), and the pharmaceutical industry (7,440 layoffs through April — a 500% increase from 2025).

The future outlook also looks bleak. In April, hiring plans plummeted 69% from March to about 10,000 planned positions, down 38% from last April.

"With a number of factors potentially impacting summer travel plans as well as how businesses operate across sectors, we predict hiring plans will remain muted," the firm's report concluded.