US job cuts soar, thanks to tech layoffs

U.S. employers planned to cut nearly 50,000 positions in July, Challenger, Gray & Christmas reported Thursday, meting out 50 percent more job cuts than in the prior month.

The global outplacement firm said in its monthly layoff report that planned payroll reductions hit 46,887, the second highest level of the year. That compares with June's 31,434 cuts, which were the fewest of 2014. The firm added that massive staff reductions by Hewlett-Packard and Microsoft helped inflate this month's figure.