Retail Layoffs Soar Nearly 300% So Far This Year
Based on facts, either observed and verified firsthand by the reporter, or reported and verified from knowledgeable sources.
Retail layoffs have soared in 2025, driven by new economic difficulties for the sector, its long term battles with reduced foot traffic, and the growing dominance of e-commerce, according to analysis by outplacement firm Challenger, Gray & Christmas (CGC).
In May, retailers announced 11,483 job cuts, up from 7,235 in the previous month. This brings the total this year to 75,802 for the sector, up 274 percent from the 20,276 cuts announced in the first five months of 2024.
Why It Matters
CGC attributed layoffs across all sectors last month to the impact of President Donald Trump's tariffs, as well as persistent "economic pessimism" and the broader decline in consumer confidence.
These recent developments have compounded with the longer-term decline in foot traffic and rise of online shopping that have for years plagued the retail sector — the nation's largest private sector employer, according to the National Retail Federation, which supports over one-in-four American jobs.
What To Know
Overall, total U.S. announced job cuts dropped 12 percent in May to 93,816, from 105,441 in April. However, this figure was still up 47 percent from the same month last year. In 2025, employers have announced 696,309 job cuts, up 80 percent from the 385,859 announced in the first five months of last year. As CGC noted, it would take only 65,049 cuts to surpass the total announced in 2024.
The services sector led the way last month, with 22,492 cuts amounting for the highest monthly figure since May 2020, at the height of the COVID-19 pandemic. Only government job cuts have surpassed those seen in the retail sector this year, owing primarily to the aggressive cost-cutting efforts pursued by the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE).
Shown is Walmart retail location in Philadelphia, Wednesday, June 4, 2025.
Shown is Walmart retail location in Philadelphia, Wednesday, June 4, 2025.
Matt Rourke/AP Photo
Several prominent retailers have announced layoffs in recent weeks, including Nike, pharmacy chain CVS and Walmart, which confirmed to Newsweek that nearly 1,500 employees would be let go in a restructuring push aimed at improving company-wide efficiencies.
CGC's report came ahead of the official Non-Farm Payrolls data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics, which showed a decline in new jobs to 139,000 from 147,000 in April. The results were weighed down by the loss of 22,000 federal workers, though the unemployment rate remained flat at 4.2 percent.
In the private sector, hiring has failed to keep up with the pace of job cuts, according to two recent reports from payroll firm ADP and the National Federation of Independent Business (NFIB), which showed the pace of hiring slowing in May and small businesses reporting persistently low levels of job openings.
What People Are Saying
Andrew Challenger, Senior Vice President of Challenger, Gray & Christmas said: "Tariffs, funding cuts, consumer spending, and overall economic pessimism are putting intense pressure on companies' workforces. Companies are spending less, slowing hiring, and sending layoff notices."
Nicole Leinbach Hoffman, founder and president of RetailMinded.com, and STIMULATE: A B2B Sexual Wellness Trade Show, told Newsweek: "Supply chain disruptions, increased competition, and changing consumer habits - including online buying - are all strong influencers to the challenges facing retailers and more so, why many merchants are increasing their layoffs. Keeping this in mind, the real reason, however, is that these same merchants may not have pivoted as effectively as needed during these challenges to withstand the current stresses in retail and thus, layoffs are the result. Being proactive to be profitable should always be the goal of a retailers, and timing is a big part of this reality."
What Happens Next?
According to CGC, American employers have announced 79,741 planned hires in the year so far, up 57 percent from 2024. However, the firm noted that this figure remains "historically low when compared to pre-pandemic and early-pandemic years."
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