New data published by global outplacement firm Challenger, Gray & Christmas on Thursday revealed that more than 275,000 jobs were cut in the American economy in the month of March, which represents a record high for that month.
Notably, the job cuts came before President Donald Trump announced his massive tariffs on foreign goods this week that have sent stock market futures plunging on Thursday morning.
What's more, the vast majority of job cuts were caused by billionaire Elon Musk's slashing of the federal workforce under the Department of Government Efficiency.
The combination of record job cuts and record tariffs led critics of the president to lash out at his mismanagement of the American economy.
ALSO READ: 'The patient lived!' Trump celebrates tariffs with 'operation' comparison as markets tank
"March saw the third-highest number of layoffs in U.S. history, and 80% of them were caused by DOGE This was before the tariffs It's just... unbelievable," marveled Philadelphia Inquirer columnist Will Bunch on BlueSky.
"They're calling it 'the dumbest economic policy the world has ever seen,'" remarked Media Matters' Andrew Lawrence. "A functioning country would remove people from office for being this stupid and showing such an unbelievable ignorance of how the economy works."
"They’re taking your jobs and picking your pockets," wrote Georgia State University College of Law professor Anthony Michael Kreis.
University of Michigan political scientist Don Moynihan argued that the economic destruction being pushed by Trump appeared to be thoroughly comprehensive.
"Trump is basically pressing all the 'do not touch' buttons simultaneously: mass layoffs, increasing prices, undermining consumer and international confidence," he wrote. "Not sure what else he could be doing to trigger a recession, let alone longer term US decline."
New York Times columnist Jamelle Bouie summarized the situation succinctly and simply wrote, "Trump take job."
trump take job
[image or embed]
— jamelle (@jamellebouie.net) April 3, 2025 at 7:50 AM
Trump is basically pressing all the “do not touch” buttons simultaneously: mass layoffs, increasing prices, undermining consumer and international confidence. Not sure what else he could be doing to trigger a recession, let alone longer term US decline
[image or embed]
— Don Moynihan (@donmoyn.bsky.social) April 3, 2025 at 8:37 AM
They’re taking your jobs and picking your pockets.
[image or embed]
— Anthony Michael Kreis (@anthonymkreis.bsky.social) April 3, 2025 at 7:51 AM
theyre calling it “the dumbest economic policy the world has ever seen”
[image or embed]
— Andrew Lawrence (@ndrew.bsky.social) April 3, 2025 at 7:58 AM
March saw the third-highest number of layoffs in U.S. history, and 80% of them were caused by DOGE This was before the tariffs It's just...unbelievable
— Will Bunch (@willbunch.bsky.social) April 3, 2025 at 7:43 AM
