US Retailers Surpass Tech Firms in Total Layoffs — Retail Bum

Retail businesses laid off more workers in April than tech firms — a sign that the retail sector is tightening its belt to safeguard itself against the potential risk of a recession.

The retail sector has eliminated 36,000 jobs, which is still well below the 114,000 jobs that have been cut in the tech sector, with companies such as Amazon and Facebook leading the pack.

“Retailers and consumer goods manufacturers are preparing for a tightening in consumer spending, particularly with the Fed’s hike to interest rates in an attempt to control inflation,” said Andrew Challenger, senior vice president of Challenger, Gray & Christmas Inc, a consulting firm that has been tracking layoffs in the retail and tech sector.

The news follows reports from several major players in the retail space that have recently turned up their pace of layoffs as consumers continue to cut back on their retail spending.

Just late last month, Gap announced a second round of layoffs, eliminating 1,800 positions after letting go of more than 500 workers in September last year. The news came after Walmart fired 2,300 warehouse workers that supported its eCommerce fulfillment business.

Total job losses in April declined by 25%, reaching the lowest point so far this year at nearly 67,000. Overall, some 337,000 workers have lost their jobs since the start of the year, according to Reuters.

Originally published at https://retailbum.com on May 8, 2023.