51,692 May Job Cuts Led By Automotive, Retail

The number of workforce reductions announced by US-based employers rose sharply in May, as planned job cuts totaled 51,692 for the month. Nearly 40 percent of those job cuts were announced by Ford Motor Company, according to the report released Thursday from global outplacement consultancy Challenger, Gray & Christmas, Inc.

May job cuts were 41 percent higher than the 36,602 job cuts announced in April, and 71 percent higher than the same month last year, when employers shed 30,157 jobs.

Employers have announced a total of 214,495 job cuts so far this year. That is down 28 percent from the 275,218 job cuts that occurred last year through May 2016.

"Ford's announcement of 20,000 global layoffs to streamline and cut costs is a typical strategy of large corporations who need to pivot to stay competitive. As consumers demand electric and self-driving options, traditional auto makers will need to adapt," said John A. Challenger, chief executive officer of Challenger, Gray & Christmas.

The automotive industry led all industries last month with 20,271 job cuts, bringing the year-to-date total to 28,996. Retailers continue to announce the most job cuts this year with 55,910, 5,777 of which occurred in May.

"The retail industry is still shedding jobs. We are now seeing the effect of changing consumer behavior in grocery shopping.

"Grocery stores are no longer immune from online shopping. Meal delivery services and Amazon are competing with traditional grocers, and Amazon announced it is opening its first ever brick-and mortar store in Seattle. Amazon Go, which mixes online technology and the in-store experience, is something to keep an eye on since it may potentially change the grocery store shopping experience considerably," said Challenger.

Major Retail Announcements

                               Stores Closed          Job Cuts               Reason
Macy's                           68                       10,000             Restructuring
The Limited                   250                        4,000             Bankruptcy
American Apparel*         110                         3,457            Bankruptcy
Wet Seal Inc.                171                        3,000             Bankruptcy
Lowe's                                                       2,400             Cost-cutting
Sears/Kmart**               150                          406              Cost-cutting
Abercrombie & Fitch***    60                          150              Cost-cutting
HHGregg                        220                       5,000             Bankruptcy
JC Penney                     140                       5,500             Restructuring
Family Christian Stores   240                       1,300                Closing
L.L. Bean                                                       900            Cost-cutting
Payless                          400                                           Bankruptcy
Radioshack                    552                                            Bankruptcy
Bebe                              190                        960              Restructuring
BCBG Max Azria            120                                            Bankruptcy
Dollar Express                330                      2,800              Acquisition/Merger
Rue 21                           400                                            Bankruptcy
Central Grocers               31                       1,900             Bankruptcy 
Winn-Dixie                      20                                            Restructuring
Marsh Supermarkets       16                        1,535             Bankruptcy

Companies in the health care/products industry announced 3,054 job cuts during the month, 55 percent higher than the 1,348 announced in May 2016. To date, 14,323 cuts have been in the in health care/products industry.
Another 12,347 service industry jobs have been shed so far in 2017, with 4,082 announced last month. This is an 83 percent increase from May 2016 when only 673 jobs in service industries were shed.
The telecommunications sector cut 10,815 job cuts so far this year with 546 announced in May, and 10,815 for the entire year. This is 40 percent more than last year when the total was 6,404 layoffs.

CONTACTS        
Colleen Madden, Director of Public Relations
Office: 312-422-5074
Mobile: 314-807-1568
colleenmadden@challengergray.com

Blake Palder, Public RelationsAssociate
Office: 312-422-5156
blakepalder@challengergray.com