shirotie/Depositphotos.com
September 8, 2025
Do Sweeping Retail Job Cuts Signal a Challenging Seasonal Jobs Market for 2025’s Holiday Season?
The retail job market continues to exhibit struggles, according to the most recent Challenger, Gray & Christmas data.
According to the figures, retailers axed 83,656 positions this year, as of the end of August — an uptick of 242% versus retail jobs cut during the same time frame in 2024. Concerning the month of August more specifically, retail shed 3,169 positions in 2025, versus 1,412 the year prior.
“Retailers are being hard hit by tariffs, inflation, and ongoing economic uncertainty causing bankruptcies and closures,” said Andrew Challenger, senior VP and jobs expert for Challenger, Gray & Christmas. “If tariffs and consumer spending constraints play out, the approaching holiday shopping season may see fewer seasonal hires and, in fact, high layoffs.”
Overall, macroeconomic concerns (“market and economic conditions”) as well as the closure of stores, units, or plants were most pertinent reasons cited as being behind the bulk of retail job losses. Automation, specifically concerning the rise and implementation of AI, was also brought forth as a significant pressure on jobs, more broadly, as were DOGE cuts — although the latter may not have held as much bearing on private sector retail positions.
Things may not bode well for September’s numbers in terms of anticipated job creation, either, a potential ill omen regarding the upcoming (and very crucial) holiday season for retailers.
“September is typically when we begin to see large seasonal hiring announcements, which foretell how Retailers expect the holiday season to go. Coming off the lowest August on record for hiring plans, it may be a troubling sign,” Challenger added.
The report has at least one emerging data point seemingly reinforcing its pessimistic projections: Bath & Body Works announced the planned hiring of over 30,000 seasonal workers for its stores — a few thousand shy of the ~33,000 seasonal retail workers it was slated to hire for the 2024 holiday season, per Chain Store Age.
Shifting Seasonal Jobs Figures Could Require Deeper Context
One thing to note: According to a Forbes report laying out the details regarding similarly gloomy seasonal jobs figures for 2024, it was noted that several of the jobs lost in retail may have shifted to warehousing and transportation as brick-and-mortar business continues to lose share to e-commerce operations.
“November’s decline [2024] in retail employment could reflect holiday shopping shifting from in-person to online,” said Mitchell Barnes, labor economist at The Conference Board, at the time.
Discussion Questions
Do the ongoing retail job cuts as evidenced by Challenger, Gray & Christmas signal a challenging seasonal jobs market in retail for holiday 2025? Why or why not?
Are front-line retail sales job losses inevitable, or can the position evolve in some capacity?
Are understaffed brick-and-mortar stores doing damage to their larger brands? Should retail executives be investing more resources in ensuring front lines are adequately staffed and supported, despite the expense?
Poll
Loading …BrainTrust
Jeff Sward
Founding Partner, Merchandising Metrics
Richard Hernandez
Merchant Director
Neil Saunders
Managing Director, GlobalData
Recent Discussions
More Discussions
Has Kroger Discovered the Limits of Automated Warehouses?
Kroger is winding down its relationship with Ocado, citing cost overruns and a reorganization of its…What Can Ross Do To Cement its Recent Success Story?
Ross has seen strong sales and projects this trend to continue. How can it best cement…Is Cyber Week Set To Smash Sales Records This Year, as Salesforce Suggests?
Salesforce suggests that Cyber Week will set records in terms of sales this year. Is this…
A lot of the job cuts to-date have come from retail bankruptcies and failures. From an overall economic standpoint and from the personal perspectives of those involved, this is difficult. However, it is important not to take this out of perspective. There are many parts of retail that are still growing and hiring. As such, it looks like retail will continue to be a net generator of jobs. The problem is that the number generated will be slimmer than usual – because even those that are growing are having to offset higher costs, including from tariffs which they can’t pass across in full to consumers. When the mindset is frugal and cautious, hiring reflects that.
Some may josh you for issuing the Curate’s Eggonomic Report: Parts of the market are excellent!
All these puns. It’s no yolk, you know!
Well they certainly indicate the perception of that; so the real question is “will the perception be correct?” Indications are mixed at this point…personally I’m on the negative side, but I’m not devoted to it.
Retail executives are cutting in anticipation of AI and automation benefits kicking in. Timing, though, is problematic: can these compensate for human intuition during the most emotionally-driven shopping period of the year? While the customer journey will change with AI agents, betting on this holiday season is premature.
Brick-and-mortar players need to rethink the combination of the proper in-store human touch (even if complemented by digital tech) without falling into the operational efficiency trap. Will your skeleton crew handle holiday returns, gift exchanges, or product questions without losing sales or giving your customers a reason to shop elsewhere? Stop treating store labor as a cost line item and view it as a customer acquisition lever, as a brand validation investment.
Excellent point. While I see the proactiveness for AI, it is premature to cut labor for the holidays. Yes, there maybe some holes in supply chain, cutting too much on assumption is never a good thing. We don’t know wha we don’t know. I am slightly hopeful it can be a better holiday that last year.
Wait. Stores were understaffed last year, resulting in lost sales and higher retail theft. sky-high tariffs are going to wreak havoc, but letting people go isn’t the right solution.
The latest Challenger, Gray & Christmas data shows retail job cuts are up over 240% year-over-year—clear evidence that holiday 2025 will bring a leaner seasonal job market.
That doesn’t mean front-line roles are obsolete. They can evolve into higher-value positions that bridge digital and physical retail, provide expertise, and enhance the customer journey. But cutting too deeply risks brand damage. Understaffed stores translate to poor service and weakened loyalty.
In my view, retail leaders should see staffing not just as an expense, but as an investment in brand experience—especially during the holidays, when customer impressions last the longest. Staffing must, of course, reflect the realities of economic conditions and projected sales volumes. However, I continue to see missed sales and brand reputation at retail reflecting more draconian cuts that are producing horrible customer service, and thus are “self-fulfilling” in bringing about declining revenue at a key timeframe.
Much like locking up all the merchandise, cutting back on staff only decreases sales creating self fulfilling prophecies. Making it harder to purchase in person both with access, and inconsistent stock positions, forces purchases elsewhere. Every time.
I think the sort answer is “yes”, we are looking at a potentially challenging holiday season. Chaos and turmoil in the market seems to be growing rather than abating. I don’t see the oasis ahead where we can all say, “Whew, glad that’s behind us. Now let’s enjoy the holiday season!” Having said that, how much thinner can store staffing get? Floor set execution, service, and shortage issues already plague so many retailers. And the solution for all those issues is all hands on deck…literally.
Seasonal hiring is always about a balance between saving money and giving customers a good experience. Cutting too many jobs can backfire. During the holidays, customers want fast service and real help, especially with returns and gifts. Too few staff may save costs, but it can lead to missed sales, unhappy customers, and long-term damage to the brand.
Automation and AI will reshape store roles in the future, but not quickly enough for this holiday season. Right now, having the right number of people in stores is still an investment in customer loyalty during the busiest shopping time of the year.