Financial firms announced 22,912 job cuts through August 2026, down 49% from the 44,986 cuts announced through August 2025, according to Challenger, Gray & Christmas. Those are announced plans only, and the federal side of the financial sector layoff statistics tells a different story: the Bureau of Labor Statistics counted 57,000 layoffs and discharges in finance and insurance in August 2026, the same August level as in 2025 (57,000).
At the bank level, Wells Fargo ended June 2026 with 197,466 employees, down from 212,804 a year earlier, while Bank of America reported 211,304. The figures below cover announced cuts, monthly layoffs, employment by subsector, bank headcount, FinTech, artificial intelligence and job cuts outside the US.
Key Takeaways
- Announced financial-sector cuts equal only about 8.2% of the roughly 280,000 finance and insurance layoffs and discharges recorded from January to August 2026, a ratio between two different measures rather than a share of one total.
- Securities and investment firms added about 27,200 jobs between September 2025 and September 2026, while insurance carriers lost about 76,000.
- Wells Fargo cut its headcount by 15,338 people in a year, while Goldman Sachs ended June 2026 with 300 more people than a year earlier.
- FinTech cuts rose 331% to 7,806 through September, while announced cuts at financial firms ran at about 50.9% of their 2025 pace through August.
- Financial firms announced 3,157 cuts in July, the second-most of any industry.
- Finance and insurance employment fell by about 93,300 jobs between September 2025 and September 2026.
Editor’s Choice
- Announced financial cuts, January to August 2026: 22,912.
- Financial cuts in August 2026: 4,286.
- Finance and insurance layoffs and discharges, August 2026: 57,000.
- Finance and insurance employment, September 2026: 6,644,600.
- Wells Fargo headcount, June 30, 2026: 197,466.
- FinTech cuts through September 2026: 7,806.
Financial Sector Layoff Statistics: Announced Cuts in 2026
Figures are compiled from 27 sources: 14 Bureau of Labor Statistics data series pages and downloads published by the Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis, 7 monthly Challenger, Gray & Christmas reports, and 6 company releases and filings. Source dates run from September 2025 to October 2026. Only government data, company disclosures and the Challenger tracker qualify, and figures are reviewed on a rolling basis and updated when sources publish new editions.
- Financial firms announced 4,286 cuts in August for a year-to-date total of 22,912.
- Year-to-date financial cuts stood at 18,626 through July, down 31% from 26,894 a year earlier.
- Financial institutions cut 9,397 jobs in the first quarter, down 41% from 15,982 in the same period of 2025.
- US employers across all industries announced 529,914 job cuts through August, down 41% from 892,362.
- Financial firms accounted for about 4.3% of all announced cuts through August.
| Period | 2026 financial cuts | 2025 financial cuts | Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| January to March | 9,397 | 15,982 | Down 41% |
| January to July | 18,626 | 26,894 | Down 31% |
| January to August | 22,912 | 44,986 | Down 49% |
Source: Challenger, Gray & Christmas, April to September 2026
Are financial sector layoffs rising in 2026?
Announced financial layoffs are falling. Financial firms announced 22,912 cuts through August, down 49% from 44,986 a year earlier.
Federal data show a milder decline. Finance and insurance layoffs and discharges totaled about 280,000 from January to August 2026, against about 311,000 over the same months of 2025. August was flat on a year earlier, with finance and insurance layoffs and discharges at 57,000 in August 2025 and 57,000 in August 2026.
Monthly Layoffs in Finance and Insurance
- The Bureau of Labor Statistics JOLTS layoffs and discharges series recorded 57,000 layoffs and discharges in finance and insurance in August 2026, up from 36,000 in July.
- May 2026 recorded 26,000, after 39,000 in January.
- Layoffs and discharges totaled about 280,000 from January to August 2026, compared with about 311,000 over the same months of 2025.
- April 2025 brought 61,000, against 30,000 in April 2026.
View the data
Key finding: Challenger counted 22,912 announced financial cuts through August 2026, while federal JOLTS data show about 280,000 finance and insurance layoffs and discharges over those eight months. The two series measure different things: Challenger tallies announced layoff plans by industry, with FinTech counted as its own industry, while JOLTS records layoffs and discharges across all finance and insurance employers, so the announced total is not a subset of the federal one.
Recent Developments
- October 2, 2026: Finance and insurance employment fell to 6,644,600 in September, from 6,651,600 in August.
- October 1, 2026: US employers announced 43,281 job cuts in September, down 18% from 52,881 in August, and FinTech cuts reached 7,806 for the year.
- September 29, 2026: Finance and insurance layoffs and discharges reached 57,000 in August, the latest monthly reading.
- September 2026: Financial firms announced 4,286 cuts in August.
- August 6, 2026: Financial firms announced 3,157 cuts in July, the second-most of any industry.
- July 14, 2026: Wells Fargo’s second-quarter results cited the impact of efficiency initiatives, including a 7% reduction in headcount.
Finance and Insurance Layoff Rate
- The finance and insurance layoffs and discharges rate rose to 0.8% in August 2026, from 0.5% in July.
- In 2025, the rate reached 0.9% in April and 0.8% in August.
- A rate below 1% means fewer than one in 100 finance and insurance workers lost a job to a layoff or discharge in a typical month.
View the data
August Finance Layoffs by Year
- August layoffs and discharges in finance and insurance reached 57,000 in 2026, matching 57,000 in 2025.
- The 2026 August figure ran about 54% above August 2023.
- August readings have run high in recent years, so a late-summer rise says little about the direction of the cycle on its own.
View the data
Financial Sector Employment in 2026
- Finance and insurance employment stood at 6,644,600 in September 2026, against 6,737,900 in September 2025.
- The sector started 2026 at 6,710,400 in January.
- Employment in financial activities fell to 9,082,000 in September 2026 from 9,189,000 a year earlier.
- That is a loss of about 107,000 jobs across financial activities in 12 months.
View the data
Financial Jobs by Subsector
- Securities, commodity contracts and investment firms employed 1,174,000 people in September 2026.
- That headcount rose about 2.4% in 12 months, while insurance carriers and related activities shrank about 2.5%.
- Commercial banking employment fell about 1.9% over the same period.
- The split matters for anyone reading a single sector total: among the subsectors shown, job losses are concentrated in insurance carriers and commercial banking, while trading and investment headcount is still growing.
View the data
Why it matters: Insurance carriers shed about 76,000 jobs between September 2025 and September 2026, according to Bureau of Labor Statistics data. Securities and investment firms added about 27,200 over the same period. Finance is not shrinking evenly, so a sector-wide figure hides very different conditions for workers.
Commercial Banking Employment
- Commercial banking employment fell to 1,347,500 in September 2026, from 1,348,000 in August.
- The industry began 2026 at 1,364,600 in January.
- Commercial banks employed about 25,500 fewer people than in September 2025.
- April 2026 brought a small uptick to 1,357,200 from 1,356,900 in March.
View the data
Big Bank Headcount in 2026
- Wells Fargo employed 197,466 people as of June 30, 2026, 15,338 fewer than a year earlier.
- Bank of America’s headcount fell by 2,084 over the same 12 months.
- Goldman Sachs ended March 2026 with 47,000 employees, before the second-quarter decline.
- Goldman Sachs headcount decreased 2% compared with the end of the first quarter of 2026.
- State Street said compensation and employee benefits decreased 10% compared to 1Q26, reflecting in part productivity savings, including lower headcount.
View the data
Wells Fargo’s decline was several times Bank of America’s, while Goldman Sachs grew slightly, so no single bank stands in for the sector.
Wells Fargo Headcount Reduction
- The bank ended June 2026 with 197,466 employees.
- Wells Fargo’s second-quarter 2026 release linked expenses to the impact of efficiency initiatives, including a 7% reduction in headcount.
- Headcount fell about 1.8% in the second quarter alone.
View the data
Wells Fargo’s headcount was lower at every quarter-end shown, so the 7% reduction came in steps over four quarters rather than in a single quarter.
Bank of America Branch and Staff Counts
- Bank of America operated 3,530 US financial centers as of June 30, 2026, against 3,664 a year earlier.
- The bank ran 134 fewer financial centers than a year earlier.
- The bank’s US-branded ATM count rose slightly to 14,939 from 14,904.
- Headcount was 211,304 on June 30, 2026, down from 212,134 at the end of March.
| Measure | June 30, 2026 | March 31, 2026 | June 30, 2025 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Headcount | 211,304 | 212,134 | 213,388 |
| US financial centers | 3,530 | 3,540 | 3,664 |
| US branded ATMs | 14,939 | 14,902 | 14,904 |
Source: Bank of America second-quarter 2026 financial results
Most of the net drop of 134 financial centers at Bank of America came between June 2025 and March 2026; the second quarter of 2026 accounted for only 10, a timing detail that a single annual bank branch closure count would hide.
Financial Layoffs Compared With Other Industries
- Technology led all industries with 155,126 announced cuts through August, followed by Transportation with 42,279.
- Financial firms announced 22,912 cuts through August, just above Food at 22,367 and Government at 22,229.
- Twenty-one of the 30 industries Challenger tracks announced fewer cuts through September than a year earlier.
- Technology reached 165,925 cuts through September, up 54%.
View the data
FinTech Layoffs in 2026
- FinTech companies announced 5,731 job cuts in May, the bulk of which cited AI in their announcements.
- FinTech cuts reached 7,806 through September, up 331%.
- FinTech firms announced 459 cuts in September.
| Period | FinTech cuts | Change from 2025 |
|---|---|---|
| May 2026 | 5,731 | Not reported |
| January to August 2026 | 7,347 | Up 305% |
| January to September 2026 | 7,806 | Up 331% |
Source: Challenger, Gray & Christmas, June to October 2026
May supplied about 73% of the FinTech cuts announced through September, so the yearly total reflects one heavy month more than a steady trend in FinTech employment.
AI-Linked Job Cuts in 2026
- AI has been cited in 120,136 job cut announcements through September, approximately 21% of all cuts, across all industries.
- AI led all reasons in June with 14,029 cuts, or 31% of the month’s total.
- AI accounted for 12,304 announced cuts through February, or 8% of job cut plans.
- Companies referenced AI for 54,836 announced layoff plans in 2025, 5% of total cuts.
| Period | Cuts citing AI | Share of all cuts |
|---|---|---|
| Full year 2025 | 54,836 | 5% |
| January to February 2026 | 12,304 | 8% |
| January to June 2026 | 101,743 | Approximately 23% |
| January to August 2026 | 116,175 | Approximately 22% |
| January to September 2026 | 120,136 | Approximately 21% |
Source: Challenger, Gray & Christmas, March to October 2026
“Financial institutions are being impacted by AI, but these companies are also undertaking traditional cost-cutting initiatives, particularly during a time of uncertainty and volatility in the markets,” said Challenger.
Challenger’s AI counts cover job cut announcements across all industries, so they track cuts that cite AI, not how far banks have adopted AI.
Bank Job Cuts Outside the US
- As of its September 2025 announcement, ANZ expects approximately 3,500 employees to depart the Group by September 2026.
- ANZ expected a restructuring charge of approximately $560 million before tax in its 2H25 results, with figures in Australian dollars, the bank’s reporting currency.
- ANZ said there would be limited impacts to frontline customer-facing roles.
| Measure | Figure |
|---|---|
| Employees expected to depart by September 2026 (as announced September 2025) | Approximately 3,500 |
| Managed services contractors affected | Around 1,000 |
| Restructuring charge before tax, 2H25 (A$) | Approximately 560 million |
Source: ANZ media release, September 2025
Conclusion
Announced cuts point to a quieter year for finance: financial firms announced 22,912 cuts through August 2026, down 49% from 44,986. Federal data paint a steadier picture, with finance and insurance layoffs and discharges at 57,000 in August, the same as a year earlier. Among the three subsectors shown, insurance carriers and commercial banks are shedding jobs, while trading and investment firms are still hiring.
The next markers to watch are the third-quarter bank earnings releases, which will show whether Wells Fargo’s year-long headcount decline continues, and the November JOLTS update, which will show whether the August layoff level was a seasonal peak.
