Michigan saw some of the highest job losses in the U.S. during January, report says
A new report says that Michigan saw some of the highest job cuts among the 50 states in January 2026.
The Challenger Report issued by Challenger, Gray & Christmas notes 19,714 job losses in Michigan in January, with only Georgia topping that number at 31,415. Washington state was a close third at 19,526 job losses.
Across the country, the company said, there were 108,435 job cuts in January. This is the highest number tracked in this study since October 2025, when 153,074 job cuts were recorded. It is also the highest January since January 2009, when 241,749 job cuts were recorded.
"Generally, we see a high number of job cuts in the first quarter, but this is a high total for January. It means most of these plans were set at the end of 2025, signaling employers are less-than-optimistic about the outlook for 2026," said Andy Challenger, workspace expert and chief revenue officer for Challenger, Gray & Christmas.
The examples cited in the report include Dow Inc., headquartered in Midland, Michigan, which announced in late January that it plans to cut about 4,500 jobs in a shift toward artificial intelligence and automation.
An earlier edition of the Challenger Report says 2025 saw the highest Q4 layoffs since 2008.
Other trends noted across the country included job cuts at Amazon, UPS, various health care companies and hospitals.
"Healthcare providers and hospital systems are grappling with inflation and high labor costs. Lower reimbursements from Medicaid and Medicare are also hitting hospital systems. These pressures are leading to job cuts, as well as other cutting measures, such as some pay and benefits," Challenger said. "It's very difficult for leaders of these companies to tighten budgets while not sacrificing patient care."
The report also tracked 5,309 jobs created during January 2026, the lowest monthly total since Challenger started issuing these reports in 2009. To compare, there were 10,496 hiring plans confirmed in December 2025.
The above video originally aired on Jan. 29, 2025.
