U.S. employers announced almost 100,000 job cuts in May, up an eye-watering 47% from the same month last year, according to new data released Thursday morning by the outplacement firm Challenger, Gray & Christmas.
Even with a slight decline from April, the 47% year-over-year jump makes it clear: Layoffs are a rapidly accelerating trend. What was a murmur is becoming a scream.
“Tariffs, funding cuts, consumer spending, and overall economic pessimism are putting intense pressure on companies’ workforces,” said senior vice president Andrew Challenger. “Companies are spending less, slowing hiring, and sending layoff notices.”
In all, 2025 looks to be on track to scorch recent records.
Just six months into 2025, employers have already announced almost 700,000 job cuts. That’s a whopping 80% increase from the same period last year and just 65,000 short of all layoffs tracked in total in 2024.
The services sector (which includes temporary staffing, cleaning services, and other business-to-business support providers) led the way in May with more than 22,000 layoffs, the worst month for the category since May 2020.
Retailers followed with 11,483 job cut announcements, bringing their year-to-date total to more than 75,000. That’s up 274% from the same point in 2024.
Nonprofits, likely hit by downstream effects of federal funding reductions, also saw significant pain, with layoffs in that sector up a shattering 504% year-over-year.
Government-related layoffs remain the biggest single source of reductions, with more than 284,000 job cuts attributed to direct or indirect impacts of Elon Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency, or DOGE, a Trump administration initiative driving mass federal workforce reductions.
Tech sector layoffs also surged in May, according to TrueUp.io, with 24,467 tech employees impacted and Panasonic, Microsoft (MSFT), Walmart (WMT), and OpenText (OTEX) among the largest contributors. Per the Challenger Gray data, the tech sector now trails only government and retail for total layoffs in 2025, with total layoffs for 2025 already sitting at nearly 75,000, representing a 35% year-over-year surge.
Separately, Procter & Gamble (PG) announced plans Thursday to eliminate 7,000 white-collar jobs over the next two years as it exits underperforming categories and regions. While not immediate, the cuts signal a broader shift in strategy for the consumer goods giant and add to the white-collar layoff trend.
SPACEX'S RISE
Tesla slides 14% after Trump blasts Musk — markets follow.
Stocks slipped Thursday as a high-profile feud rattled markets.
Daily market wrap-up for 6-5-25:
🔻 S&P 500: -0.5%
🔻 Nasdaq: -0.8%
🔻 Dow: -108 points
Tesla lost over 14%, falling below the $1T mark after President Trump criticized Elon Musk and threatened to cut federal contracts. Musk responded by announcing SpaceX will begin decommissioning its Dragon spacecraft.
Tensions also flared between the U.S. and China despite a reported call between Trump and Xi.
Meanwhile, jobless claims hit their highest level since October, adding pressure ahead of Friday’s big jobs report.
If you look at the Pentagon’s organizational chart, President Donald Trump is atop the pecking order, carrying the title and power his predecessors enjoyed as Commander in Chief. But judging from the last 24 hours in Washington, as the world’s most powerful man has gotten into a tit-for-tat schoolyard feud with the world’s richest man, a more apt title comes to mind: Chief Petty Officer.
Sitting in the Oval Office and on a dueling social media platform of his making, the billionaire President is lobbing threats and invectives at fellow billionaire Elon Musk, who just last week enjoyed the kind of warm sendoff seldom offered to outgoing Cabinet secretaries, who in Trump's first term were summarily fired on Twitter. Now that Musk owns Twitter—renamed X—the tables are turned, and Musk can use the same platform to derail Trump’s agenda from afar.
It’s a breakup that stands to shake up the entire second term of Trump. And it’s all playing out with more drama than a Housewives reunion.
The unscripted unraveling comes as Washington is facing a self-imposed time crunch to finish work on a massive piece of legislation that accomplishes much of the agenda Trump promised as he sought the most unlikely return to power. It carries huge tax breaks, spending to tighten the border and immigration, and drastic cuts to programs promoting clean energy. It’s that last bit that seems to have sparked the shocking split between the two men who, until days ago, seemed to be of a shared mind to trash the federal infrastructure with disregard for its effects. Trump wanted to scale back the size of government and gave Musk a sledgehammer and full access to just about every corner of it.
But when Musk left Trump’s side, he seemed suddenly cleared of any sense of loyalty. He started lobbing his problems with House Republicans’ "One Big Beautiful Bill." He called it an abomination, a debt bomb, a mistake that would cost incumbents their jobs if they didn’t reverse course. He said Trump would never have been elected without his financial help. (That one is probably right, as Musk was the single largest patron of efforts to get Trump back in power.) And, for good measure, in a social media post mid-afternoon Thursday, Musk said Trump is in the unreleased dossier about those involved in a sex trafficking operation of disgraced billionaire Jeffrey Epstein.
As Trump responded in kind, the world was left watching a brawl involving two masters of the universe who, given their power and resources, could better the course of human history if only they would focus. Trump said Musk “went CRAZY!” Trump threatened to take away all contracts from Musk’s companies, including the SpaceX firm that has quickly become a critical player for NASA. (Musk’s orbit benefits from at least $38 billion in loans, subsidies, tax credits, and outright contracts, according to a Washington Post analysis.) And as the spat went into its third day, Trump decided that holding his tongue was no longer working for him: “Suddenly he had a problem, and he only developed the problem when he found out we’re going to cut the EV mandate that’s billions and billions of dollars,” Trump said, mentioning the electric vehicle provisions that stand to benefit Musk’s Tesla auto brand.
Normally, billionaire spats make for good copy in the business sections of newspapers and the gossip columns of the tabloids. They’re fun, "other people's" problems, and a form of escapism. But this is not that. Programs like food aid for poor children, health care for seniors, and subsidies for day-to-day needs are in the balance. The security of borders and the safety and well-being of millions of immigrants living in this country stand to change dramatically. A reordering of a domestic agenda for the next three years is on the table. And instead of trying to win the argument on merits, Trump is sinking to Musk’s level and using his favorite tool of governance: transparent transactional threats.
Musk, relishing in his relevance, seemed to be parked on X, hurling whatever he could grab. When one user noted that the U.S. government would be forced to walk away from the International Space Station and its upkeep without Musk’s SpaceX fleet, the tech savant amplified it: “Go ahead, make my day.”
Bravado, maybe. But this is why, for a generation, the U.S. government kept so much of its core duties in-house, especially when it came to projects with huge barriers to entry. Now, with so much reliance on the billionaires with essential monopolies who can take the government hostage with their expertise, Trump is walking into this spat at a decided imbalance. Sure, he can match the pettiness, but he cannot match the political and technological heft. And that should elevate this well beyond a reality-show skirmish.
Long-simmering tensions between Donald Trump and Elon Musk exploded into public view on Thursday, as the President of the United States and the world’s richest man traded insults and threats over Musk’s opposition to a sweeping tax and spending bill central to Trump’s second-term agenda.
“Elon and I had a great relationship. I don’t know if we will anymore,” Trump told reporters during an Oval Office meeting with German Chancellor Friedrich Merz. “I’m very disappointed in Elon. I’ve helped Elon a lot.”
Musk, who until recently had been one of Trump’s most powerful allies and biggest donors, fired back in real time on X, the social platform he owns. “Without me, Trump would have lost the election,” he wrote. “Such ingratitude.”
Soon, both Musk and Trump were attacking each other via their respective social media platforms and reaching for the powerful levers within their reach. Musk floated the idea of bankrolling a new political party and urged Republicans to pick a side. Trump responded by openly threatening to upend billions of dollars in government partnerships connected to Musk’s businesses. “The easiest way to save money in our Budget, Billions and Billions of Dollars, is to terminate Elon’s Governmental Subsidies and Contracts,” Trump wrote on Truth Social. Tesla shares slipped amid the turbulence.
Musk later shared a post calling for impeaching Trump and replacing him with Vice President J.D. Vance.
Rarely has a political breakup between a President and one of his most prominent allies unfolded so swiftly—or so publicly. But their clash confirmed what had already been visible behind the scenes: a once-close alliance built on political convenience had quickly collapsed for a week. Just six days earlier, Trump and Musk were exchanging compliments in the Oval Office as Musk exited his powerful position as the head of the Department of Government Efficiency. Now, Trump is dismissing Musk, his largest benefactor in the 2024 election, as just another one of his critics suffering from “Trump Derangement Syndrome.”
Trump went on to suggest that he fired Musk from his role, eliminating waste, fraud, and abuse in the government. “Elon was ‘wearing thin,’ I asked him to leave,” Trump said, which Musk labeled “such an obvious lie.” Musk’s position as a special government employee expired last Friday, the day he formally left the Trump Administration.
In response to a post on X about whose side Republicans should be on, Musk wrote, “Oh and some food for thought as they ponder this question: Trump has 3.5 years left as President, but I will be around for 40+ years…”
He later added, without providing evidence, that Trump is in the Epstein files, a cache of documents related to the late financier and convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein. “That is the real reason they have not been made public,” he claimed. “Have a nice day, DJT!”
The public feud is primarily centered around Musk’s criticism of Trump’s “one big, beautiful bill,” which passed the House last month and now faces a contentious battle in the Senate. The package, a centerpiece of the President’s domestic agenda, includes across-the-board tax cuts and sweeping reductions in federal spending. It also phases out key incentives for electric vehicles, an industry on which Musk has built much of his wealth and influence through Tesla.
Musk began his public campaign against the bill on Tuesday, using X, to call the package a “disgusting abomination.” Dozens more posts attacking it followed, with Musk warning that the bill would “massively increase the already gigantic budget deficit” and urging his more than 200 million followers to pressure lawmakers to “KILL the BILL.” Adding fuel to the fire was a new Congressional Budget Office estimate released this week that found the measure would increase the deficit by $2.4 trillion over the next decade, despite containing more than $1.2 trillion in proposed spending cuts.
It was a striking about-face for Musk, who spent more than a quarter of a billion dollars backing Trump and other Republican candidates in the past year. Now he's threatening to put his money behind voting out anyone who supports the party's signature legislation. “In November next year, we fire all politicians who betrayed the American people,” Musk posted.
While Trump and Musk previously exchanged public praise—Trump held a send-off ceremony for Musk in the Oval Office last Friday—the President is now dismissing Musk's criticisms as self-serving.
“He knew every aspect of this bill,” Trump said in the Oval Office on Thursday afternoon. “He knew it better than almost anybody, and he never had a problem until right after he left.”
Trump accused Musk of being upset over the removal of electric vehicle subsidies, a key provision that had made Tesla vehicles more affordable. “He only developed the problem when he found out that we're gonna have to cut the EV mandate,” Trump said. “I know that disturbed him.”
Musk worked to refute Trump's allegations on X, asserting that "this bill was never shown to me even once," and that he was fine if "the EV/solar incentive cuts" remained in the bill. The issue, Musk insisted, was "the MOUNTAIN of DISGUSTING PORK in the bill."
Trump also suggested that his break with Musk came after he withdrew the nomination of Jared Isaacman—a Musk ally and veteran private astronaut with ties to his SpaceX company—to lead NASA. The move reportedly stunned Musk, who had spent heavily to support Trump’s re-election, only to see a key ally cast aside. Trump, in turn, criticized Musk’s push for Isaacman, saying the nominee was “totally Democrat,” and suggesting he didn’t owe Musk political favors.
“Elon recommended somebody to run NASA, and I didn't think it was appropriate,” Trump said Thursday. “We won, we get privileges, and one of the privileges is we don’t have to appoint a Democrat.”
The President’s tone in the Oval Office on Thursday was notably subdued, a contrast to the bravado he often reserves for critics.
“People leave my administration, and they love us, and then at some point they miss it so badly,” Trump said. He added: “They wake up in the morning, and the glamor is gone, and they become hostile.”
The timing of the split is politically delicate. Trump is pushing to have sweeping legislation on his desk by July 4, but it faces opposition from Democrats and some fiscally conservative Republicans alarmed by its impact on the deficit.
Sen. Rand Paul of Kentucky, one of the Republicans threatening to vote against the bill, told TIME on Wednesday that he thinks Musk’s criticism will embolden some Republican skeptics in both the House and Senate.
Last Friday, Musk said that he hoped to continue to be a “friend and adviser to the President” after leaving the Administration.
That wish did not last even a week.
“I don’t mind Elon turning against me,” Trump posted Thursday afternoon, “but he should have done so months ago.”
Thursday’s escalating explosions between President Donald Trump and Elon Musk are only a prelude. It is the start of a hot war, and it could soon get far worse for Musk while doing Trump little good‚other than to have a convenient scapegoat now for the unpopular DOGE with its over-promised $2 trillion of government savings.
This breakdown is far worse than Trump’s usual fallouts following the exits of scores of other former loyalists. Musk is different. This is not about Musk taking a principled stand on the soaring debt or on any other political issue. Musk’s biggest mistake, it would seem, was that he forgot his role as a staffer and advisor to Trump, not the primary character he believed himself to be. Trump, who relies on a model of leadership where all power is centralized in himself while dividing his subordinates against themselves, has always resented individuals who try to outmaneuver him. Trump will never have any tolerance for business leaders who challenge Trump’s authority.
Musk apparently believed that his wealth insulated him, but that was misguided. The reality is that Musk’s position is far weaker than many realize, and though he may be the world’s wealthiest person, his wealth is highly precarious. Virtually the entirety of Musk’s worth is paper wealth, coming from his roughly 12% ownership stake in Tesla, which has an exorbitant valuation, trading at over 100x price to earnings. Tesla stock lost 14% of its value today alone, and its excessive valuation, wildly detached from fundamentals, suggests we could still be in the earliest innings of an even greater loss.
Musk may think he has leverage over Trump, but the reality is he has little. Trump doesn’t need his money: he can easily replace Musk’s campaign contributions to his causes with other donors. There are many possible campaign contributors, but there is only one president. Similarly, Musk’s political brand has become a liability. Democrats don’t want him, and he likely has no home in Trump’s Republican Party, as some MAGA loyalists, such as Steve Bannon, are even calling for Musk’s deportation. Musk thinks he can blackmail Trump by withholding SpaceX’s Dragon spacecraft servicing of the International Space Station, but hurting U.S. interests for a personal vendetta will not go over well with anyone.
On the other hand, Trump has genuine and tremendous leverage over Musk. Musk’s businesses are highly dependent on the federal government directly, operationally, and financially. Even setting aside the soon-to-be-repealed government $7,500 subsidies for EV purchases and Trump’s influence over Tesla’s stock price, Tesla is hugely reliant on federal largesse for the build-out of EV charging infrastructure, not to mention federal regulatory approval for its continued autonomous driving and robotics experiments.
So far, Tesla has evaded Department of Justice investigations and accountability for the deaths caused by the self-driving car, not to mention the concerns of waste, fraud, and abuse made possible by the EV tax credit and government subsidies. Similarly, SpaceX is hugely dependent on direct grants and regulatory permitting, clearances, and partnerships from NASA and other federal agencies. As Musk headed out the White House door, Trump yanked the nomination of his friend Jared Isaacman as administrator of NASA days before Isaacman was poised for approval by the Senate. Musk’s company, Neuralink, is also dependent upon FDA approval and clearances for its human trials of its brain-computer interface device.
Musk says Trump would have lost without the funding and the campaign ground game Musk provided to Trump’s campaign. As the partnership devolves from allies to frenemies to hostile adversaries, neither party will win because neither party can apologize and walk away. Even if Musk and Trump succeed in finding some short-term off-ramp, which is far from a given considering the tone Musk’s tweets have been taking thus far, it is hard to see how Trump would let this disloyalty slide.
Musk has defied naysayers and critics his entire life, soaring even higher while his critics are left behind in the dust, but one wonders whether we are now witnessing the implosion of the world’s wealthiest man in real time, with Musk having finally overplayed his hand.
Text messages purportedly recruiting employees for jobs that don't actually exist seem to be everywhere lately, and the problem appears poised to get worse. Job-scam texts were the second most common type of hoax reported in 2024, according to data from the Federal Trade Commission, after fake package deliveries. And Business Insider reports that due to a confluence of factors — from a rocky labor market to increasingly sophisticated artificial intelligence software — they could become even more ubiquitous in the months ahead.
Stricter policies around student visas could jeopardize a "pipeline of inventors" immigrating to the U.S., according to The Wall Street Journal. International students attending American universities went on to produce nearly a quarter of patents filed between 1990 and 2016 and founded more than half of the country's startups valued at $1 billion or more. The crackdown intensified this week with an executive action barring new foreign students from entering the country to attend Harvard University, which sued to block the proclamation.
The Census Bureau reported that the US trade deficit in goods and services narrowed sharply, from $138.3 billion in March to $61.6 billion in April 2025, the lowest since August 2023. March figures had been distorted by front-loading of goods to beat tariffs.
Imports shrank 16.3% to a six-month low of $351.0 billion, after jumping to an all-time high of $419.4 billion in the previous month in anticipation of new tariffs. The biggest declines were seen in purchases for pharmaceuticals, finished metal shapes, light vehicles, cell phones, and other household goods. At the same time, exports rose 3.0% to a record level of $289.4 billion, led by sales of finished metal shapes, non-monetary gold, and computers. Looking at goods alone, the biggest trade deficit was recorded with China ($-19.70 billion), although it decreased sharply from a $24.18 billion deficit in March. The deficit with the EU also plunged to $17.94 billion from $47.96 billion, while the deficit with Vietnam widened a bit ($14.51 billion vs $14.0 billion).
The data will provide a stronger read on GDP for the 2nd quarter when it is released late next month.