America’s white-collar bloodbath deepens as AI becomes top reason for layoffs in March

The wave of layoffs in the United States took a frightening new turn in March, when artificial intelligence became the main reason companies cited for cutting jobs.

U.S. employers announced 60,620 job cuts in March, a sharp increase of 25 percent from the previous month, according to Challenger, Gray & Christmas. AI was linked to one in four cases.

The numbers come from household names, including workers at Oracle, Amazon, Dell and Meta, who are pouring money into AI, data centers and cost-cutting efforts.

“Companies are shifting budgets toward investments in AI at the expense of jobs,” said Andy Challenger, workplace expert at Challenger, Gray & Christmas.

The pain is no longer limited to technology. Transportation companies have announced 32,241 job cuts so far this year, a staggering 703 percent increase from the same period last year and the highest ever first-quarter total for the sector.

The healthcare sector also saw more layoffs in the first three months than ever before.

But technology remains the epicenter of the bloodshed, with 52,050 job cuts announced so far in 2026, a 40% increase from the same point last year.

“The real replacement of roles can be seen in technology companies, where AI can replace coding functions,” Challenger said.

Larry Ellison, founder of Oracle, pictured with Challenger’s Oracle USA team during the 35th America’s Cup in Bermuda in 2017. The tech giant is cutting jobs while increasing its spending on AI.

Andy Challenger, workplace expert at Challenger, Gray & Christmas, warned that companies are “shifting budgets towards investments in AI at the expense of jobs”.

Oracle – led by the world’s sixth richest man, Larry Ellison – has begun cutting staff in recent days as part of a broad restructuring campaign.

Staff were informed by abrupt notifications early in the morning as the company increased its spending on AI infrastructure.

Over the past year, Dell has reduced its workforce by about 10%, eliminating about 11,000 positions as it shifts to higher-margin businesses and AI-related demand.

Amazon has also cut tens of thousands of positions across the company over several cycles, while doubling down on investment in AI.

Twitter founder Jack Dorsey’s payments company Block cut 4,000 positions, while Atlassian cut about 10% of its workforce to refocus on AI.

Meta is also cutting staff in key divisions while continuing to invest tens of billions in its artificial intelligence ambitions.

Video game giant Epic Games also cut 1,000 jobs last week as it struggles with rising costs and slowing growth.

The auto industry is seeing larger job cuts, with 3,160 layoffs announced in March alone, bringing the total for the year to 7,551, slightly above last year’s pace.

Layoffs in the construction sector are also increasing, with 1,415 job cuts announced so far this year, a sharp increase from 904 at the same time last year, a worrying sign for the housing and construction sectors.

Brooks Nader attends Alice + Olivia x Ford Bronco ‘Can’t Be Tamed’ launch in Montauk in 2025. Automakers announced 3,160 job cuts in March

A ‘store closing’ sign displayed in a window as retailers continue to cut jobs despite a slowdown from last year’s wave of bankruptcies

Retail, on the other hand, is no longer experiencing the same wave of job losses as last year’s store closing crisis, but the sector is far from healthy.

Employers have announced 8,894 retail job cuts so far this year, a sharp decline from more than 57,000 at the same time in 2025, when a series of bankruptcies and closures ravaged the sector.

In total this year, employers announced 217,362 job cuts, according to the report, a drop of 56% compared to the first quarter of 2025.

This sharp decline is partly due to the unusually high level of government layoffs last year.

There are also signs that hiring is picking up – at least on paper.

Businesses announced plans to hire 53,867 workers in March, a sharp increase from the previous month. But more than one in five jobs was a seasonal summer job.

The government’s official monthly employment report is released Friday morning.