JOB CUT ANNOUNCEMENTS SURGE 45 PERCENT TO 76,835, HIGHEST MONTHLY TOTAL IN OVER THREE YEARS

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1 CONTACT Colleen Madden, Director of Public Relations Office: Mobile: **EMBARGOED COPY** FOR RELEASE AT 7:30 A.M. ET, MARCH 7, 2019 JOB CUT ANNOUNCEMENTS SURGE 45 PERCENT TO 76,835, HIGHEST MONTHLY TOTAL IN OVER THREE YEARS CHICAGO, March 7, 2019 The shortest month of the year saw the highest number of job cuts in over three-and-a-half years, as U.S.-based employers announced plans to cut 76,835 positions from their payrolls in February. That is 45 percent higher than the 52,988 cuts announced in January, according to a report released Thursday from global outplacement and executive coaching firm Challenger, Gray & Christmas, Inc. Last month s job cuts are 117 percent higher than the 35,369 cuts announced in February It is the highest monthly total since 105,696 cuts were recorded in July 2015, primarily due to the U.S. Army s cutting over 50,000 jobs and tanking oil prices, causing thousands of cuts in the Energy sector. Job cuts have been trending upward since the last half of We continue to see companies respond to shifting consumer behavior, new technology, as well as trade and market uncertainty through workforce restructuring, said Andrew Challenger, Vice President of Challenger, Gray & Christmas, Inc. Meanwhile, Retailers are closing or revamping brick-and-mortar locations, leading to job loss or going bankrupt and cutting their entire workforces, said Challenger. Retail leads all sectors in job cut announcements with 41,201 this year, 92 percent higher than the 21,484 Retail cuts announced through February last year. It is the highest January-February total since 2009, when Retailers announced 72,727 job cuts in the first two months of the year. -more-

2 - 2 - Announced Retail Job Cuts United States JAN. 22,327 15,378 22,491 22,246 6,699 11,394 6,676 12,426 5,755 16,737 53,968 FEB. 18,874 6,106 11,889 1,096 9,163 3,848 2,279 2,090 8,360 1,534 18,759 MARCH 35,042 4,084 8,490 6,640 2,989 16,445 2,175 1,653 2,097 3,821 APRIL 7,844 11,669 5,145 3,594 6,993 5,897 2,365 2, ,927 MAY 4,946 5,777 1,287 1, ,386 1,927 2, ,657 JUNE 3,750 4,217 3,831 17,947 1, ,807 1,415 4,306 3,566 JULY 2,697 3,862 1,523 2,532 2,183 1,794 4,135 11, ,654 AUGUST 3,715 3,607 1,025 9,601 1, ,901 3, SEPT. 5,907 3,461 7,296 2,467 1, ,519 1, ,180 OCT. 7,350 1,543 1,180 5,153 6, ,013 4,264 1,923 1,643 NOV. 3,769 2,065 4, ,640 9,998 1,527 2, DEC. 2,059 1,419 1, ,195 2, ,608 4, TOTAL 41,201 98,563 76,084 59,324 65,858 43,783 49,299 32,868 50,946 38,751 98,807 Source: Challenger, Gray & Christmas, Inc. February s retail cuts include the announcement by Payless ShoeSource that 16,000 associates would lose their jobs as the company closes 2,500 stores. Industrial Goods, which includes heavy and industrial manufacturers, announced 31,948 job cuts through February, while companies in Health Care, including Health Care Products and medical device manufacturers, announced 7,766. Transportation companies have announced 7,193 cuts so far this year. The Automotive sector has announced 7,049 cuts this year, 239 percent higher than the 2,078 cuts announced through this point in The Auto industry is one in which shifting consumer demand and new tech is creating the need to pivot in a different direction. Tech companies like Apple and Tesla are competing for the self-driving market, causing disruptions to traditional manufacturers and suppliers, said Challenger. The majority of cuts this year are due to restructuring, as companies cited this reason for 42,882 layoff announcements. Bankruptcy has claimed 38,863 jobs so far this year. Technological updates were directly blamed for 1,022 cuts. Companies relocating operations overseas claimed 683 jobs, while tariffs led to 300 cuts.

3 - 3 - # # # Note: Challenger has updated the names of two industries to better describe the companies that are tracked therein. Computer will now be labeled Technology and Commodities will now be called Mining. Challenger is also breaking out Financial Tech firms, which will be referred to as FinTech. These changes are represented in Table 2 (Job Cuts by Industry) and Table 7 (Announced Hiring Plans).

4 - 4 - Table 1: EXECUTIVE SUMMARY TOP FIVE INDUSTRIES Year To Date Retail 41,201 21,484 Industrial Goods 31,948 2,370 Health Care/Products 7,766 10,392 Transportation 7,193 4,007 Automotive 7,049 2,078 MONTH-BY-MONTH TOTALS January 52,988 44,653 February 76,835 35,369 March 60,357 April 36,081 May 31,517 June 37,202 July 27,122 August 38,472 September 55,285 October 75,644 November 53,073 December 43,884 TOTAL 129, ,659 Some reductions are identified by employers as workers who will take early retirement offers or other special considerations to leave the company. LAYOFF LOCATION Year To Date Massachusetts 29,206 New York 24,306 California 23,484 Illinois 13,813 Georgia 4,393 Listings are identified by the location of the layoff or corporate headquarters as stated in announcement.

5 - 5 - Table 2: JOB CUTS BY INDUSTRY 18-Feb 19-Jan 19-Feb YTD 2018 YTD 2019 Aerospace/Defense 641 1, ,007 Apparel Automotive 1,375 3,949 3,100 2,078 7,049 Chemical Construction Consumer Products 3,162 2, ,320 3,052 Education Electronics , Energy ,152 2,006 2,399 Entertainment/Leisure 509 3, ,139 Financial 504 4, ,141 4,686 FinTech Food 1,887 1,339 1,325 3,173 2,664 Government Health Care/Products 3,861 1,780 5,986 10,392 7,766 Industrial Goods 1,406 2,283 29,665 2,370 31,948 Insurance 1, , Legal Media 1,307 1,279 1,152 2,162 2,431 Mining Non-Profit Pharmaceutical 1, , Real Estate Retail 6,106 22,327 18,874 21,484 41,201 Services 5,038 2, ,250 2,972 Technology ,473 1,600 2,111 Telecommunications , Transportation 2,535 1,315 5,878 4,007 7,193 Utility Warehousing , ,435 TOTAL 35,369 52,988 76,835 80, ,823

6 - 6 - Table 3: JOB CUTS BY REGION, STATE EAST February YTD Massachusetts 29,063 29,206 New York 18,356 24,306 New Jersey 2,092 3,093 Pennsylvania 640 1,382 Maine Maryland 273 Vermont Connecticut Dist. of Columbia Rhode Island 0 New Hampshire 0 Delaware 0 TOTAL 50,666 59,020 MIDWEST February YTD Illinois 2,684 13,813 Wisconsin 805 2,413 Ohio 993 1,719 Michigan Indiana Nebraska Missouri Minnesota Iowa Kansas 93 TOTAL 6,975 21,304

7 - 7 - Table 3 (cont d): JOB CUTS BY REGION, STATE WEST February YTD California 7,001 23,484 Texas 2,015 3,840 Colorado 491 2,593 Nevada 79 2,239 Washington Idaho Arizona Wyoming North Dakota Oregon South Dakota 70 Alaska 70 Utah 60 Oklahoma Hawaii New Mexico 0 Montana 0 TOTAL 10,265 33,601 SOUTH February YTD Georgia 2,450 4,393 North Carolina 3,145 3,895 Tennessee 1,346 1,634 Virginia 316 1,561 Florida 760 1,395 Louisiana 376 1,240 Mississippi 754 Alabama South Carolina Arkansas Kentucky West Virginia 0 TOTAL 8,929 15,898

8 - 8 - Table 4: JOB CUTS BY REASON February Restructuring 32,827 42,882 Bankruptcy 18,879 38,863 Closing 6,514 14,006 Cost-Cutting 2,604 9,572 No Reason Provided 3,500 6,597 Contract Loss 4,098 6,557 Voluntary Severance/Buyouts 2,374 3,175 Demand Downturn 1,493 1,651 Acquisition/Merger 1,059 1,605 Wildfire 1,431 1,431 Technological Update 122 1,022 Consolidation Relocation Overseas Relocation Domestic Tariffs Market Conditions Financial Losses 65 Government Regulation Contract Dispute 50 ICE Inquiry Coal Downturn TOTAL 76, ,823 YTD

9 - 9 - Table 5: QUARTER BY QUARTER Q1 Q2 Q3 Q4 TOTAL ,850 10,100 24,085 67, , ,052 87,686 49,104 72, , ,056 76, , , , * 110,815 85, , , , ,615 84, , , , , , ,706 98, , , ,583 89, , , , ,818 91, , , ,257 51,309 95, , , , , , , , , , , , , ,853 81, , , , , , , ,188 1,956, , , , ,435 1,466, , , , ,346 1,236, , , , ,415 1,039, , , , ,402 1,072, , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,903 1,223, , , , ,122 1,272, , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,858 91, , , ,799 94,478 97, , , , , , ,659 AVG 196, , , ,907 *Estimate based on half-year total. Challenger began tracking job cut data in Before that, it was tabulated by an independent newsletter no longer published.

10 By Month Table 6: ANNOUNCED HIRING PLANS January 74,041 41, ,501 8,362 8,774 February 15, ,925 25,765 7,539 14,574 March 14, ,006 10,997 6,412 April 13,842 61,537 11,557 13,898 May 9,889 77,447 24,732 12,598 June 13,504 40,095 13,564 11,176 July 9,823 88,142 16,051 11,637 August 17,274 14,530 9,101 11,778 September 595, , , ,306 October 130, ,532 86,107 November 15,422 61, ,994 10,026 December 15,999 8,218 35,198 11,465 TOTAL 89,319 1,018,428 1,100, , ,751

11 Table 7: ANNOUNCED HIRING PLANS INDUSTRY February YEAR-TO-DATE Aerospace/Defense 0 1,300 Apparel 0 0 Automotive 8,000 8,400 Chemical 0 0 Construction 0 0 Consumer Products Education 0 0 Electronics 0 0 Energy Entertainment/Leisure 0 0 Financial FinTech 0 0 Food Government 0 0 Health Care/Products 1,300 1,500 Industrial Goods Insurance 500 1,850 Legal 0 0 Media 0 0 Mining Non-Profit 0 0 Pharmaceutical 0 0 Real Estate 0 0 Retail 0 66,700 Services Technology 3,530 3,580 Telecommunications 0 0 Transportation 0 3,000 Utility 0 0 Warehousing 0 0 TOTAL 15,279 89,319