Multiple outlets report that US employers name artificial intelligence (AI) as a leading reason for job cuts for a second straight month, alongside broader workforce reduction trends. According to figures cited from Challenger, Gray & Christmas, American employers announce 83,387 layoffs in April. That total represents a 38% increase compared with March, although layoffs remain down by 21% compared with the same period a year earlier. The Hill and The Independent both describe the pattern as continuing month to month, with companies increasingly pointing to AI in their explanations for reducing roles. The Hill’s analysis frames this shift as part of growing concern among employers and analysts about AI’s impact on employment, suggesting that firms are using AI as justification when downsizing. Together, the reports focus on both the numerical rise in layoffs from March to April and the parallel increase in the prominence of AI as a stated cause by companies. Neither outlet provides evidence in these excerpts of how many roles are affected directly by AI versus other restructuring reasons, but both tie the increase in April layoffs to language used in employer communications.