Stocks Slide as Layoff Wave Hits, Tesla Vote Kicks Off After the Bell

At the closing bell Thursday, the Dow Jones Industrial Average fell about 397 points (−0.84%) to 46,914, the S&P 500 lost roughly 76 (−1.12%) to 6,720, the Nasdaq Composite shed about 446 (−1.90%) to 23,054, and the Russell 2000 slipped 1.77% to 240.35. In commodities, WTI crude (Dec ’25) hovered near $59.64 (▲0.07%) and gold (Dec ’25) was around $3,993 (▲0.01%). Equities were pushed lower after a troubling Challenger, Gray & Christmas report showing 153,074 October layoff announcements and 1,099,500 cuts year-to-date—the highest October total since 2003.

Tesla began its annual shareholder meeting at 4 p.m. ET, with investors set to weigh a new incentive package for Elon Musk and a proposed strategic investment in xAI. A Wedbush note circulated ahead of the meeting said it expects overwhelming approval, arguing the vote would “send a loud and clear message to Elon being ‘wartime CEO’ during this most important chapter of growth in Tesla's history as the AI Revolution is here.” The firm added that Musk’s award would be earned only upon achieving “extraordinary financial returns,” and that the xAI tie-up aims to help create “one of the most powerful AI companies globally over the next 12 to 18 months.”

The latest report from Challenger, Gray & Christmas tallied 153,074 announced job cuts in October, lifting the year-to-date total to 1,099,500, the highest October reading since 2003. Technology firms announced 33,281 cuts last month, with warehousing leading with 47,878, underscoring how automation and capacity resets are rippling through supply chains, according to the firm.

“October’s pace of job cutting was much higher than average for the month… Those laid off now are finding it harder to quickly secure new roles, which could further loosen the labor market,” said Andy Challenger, workplace expert and chief revenue officer at Challenger, Gray & Christmas.

At the household level, debt burdens continued to edge higher. The New York Fed reported third-quarter balances rose 1% to $18.59 trillion, including $13.07 trillion in mortgages, $1.23 trillion in credit-card balances, and $1.65 trillion in student loans. “Household debt balances are growing at a moderate pace, with delinquency rates stabilizing,” said Donghoon Lee, Economic Research Advisor at the bank’s Center for Microeconomic Data.

Strategists at Citi, in a podcast recorded three days ago, frame the moment as a "jobless boom" in which productivity and equities advance while hiring lags behind. “We have lived through a jobless recovery in the ’90s. Now we are living through a jobless boom,” said Dirk Willer, Citi’s Global Head of Macro Strategy & Asset Allocation, who added that rate sensitivity has weighed on hiring and that year-end seasonals favor staying overweight U.S. stocks.

Corporate dealmaking offers a different kind of signal. Charles Schwab agreed to acquire Forge Global for $660 million in cash, a move aimed at providing private-market exposure to more clients. “Through Forge’s leading marketplace, we’re uniquely positioned to deepen liquidity, improve transparency, and further democratize access,” said CEO Rick Wurster. Advocates see diversification potential; skeptics warn about liquidity and valuation gaps in interval-style products.