(Il Sole 24 Ore Radiocor) - Milano, 5 feb - US-based employers announced 108,435 job cuts in January, a 118% increase from the 49,795 cuts announced a year earlier, outplacement firm Challenger, Gray and Christmas said.

It is up 205% from the 35,553 job cuts announced in December.

January's total is the highest for the month since 2009, when 241,749 job cuts were announced and is the highest monthly total since October 2025, when 153,074 cuts were recorded.

'Generally, we see a high number of job cuts in the first quarter, but this is a high total for January," said Andy Challenger, workplace expert and chief revenue officer for Challenger, Gray & Christmas.

"It means most of these plans were set at the end of 2025, signaling employers are less-than-optimistic about the.

outlook for 2026."

(RADIOCOR) 05-02-26 16:16:30 (0575) 5 NNNN