In 2026, major tech companies are cutting tens of thousands of jobs. The changes are driven by artificial intelligence. AI is reshaping how work happens across the industry.
Amazon alone has cut more than 57,000 corporate jobs since 2022. That’s about 16% of its workforce. The biggest waves hit in late January with 16,000 layoffs, and then 14,000 three months earlier. These are massive numbers. The scale is hard for the company and its workers to absorb.
Those who kept their jobs at Amazon are not doing well either. Many report heavier workloads and worse work-life balance. The layoffs may have spared them, but their daily stress is rising.
AI Drives Cuts Across the Board
Amazon is not alone. Across the tech world, about 120,000 jobs have been cut this year. Companies like Meta, Microsoft, Oracle, and Google are all part of this trend. Meta let go of around 8,000 employees while shifting 7,000 into AI-focused roles. Microsoft cut 4,800 jobs, about 2.1% of its global workforce. Microsoft says AI is changing how work gets done, but the roles cut are not being replaced directly by AI.
Oracle has reduced its workforce by 21,000 employees in the past year, a 13% drop. AI is a key reason behind these cuts. GitLab laid off about 350 workers, or 14% of its staff, to fund investment in AI infrastructure. Google cut more than a third of managers overseeing small teams. This affected between 1,500 and 3,000 engineers in 2026 alone. Intuit plans to cut 3,000 jobs, about 17% of its workforce, with AI in focus.
Workforce Shifts and New Challenges
Other companies are also adjusting. Cisco is cutting nearly 4,000 jobs, about 5% of its staff, citing AI resource realignment. Cloudflare trimmed around 1,100 jobs, 20% of its workforce. General Motors eliminated 500 to 600 IT-related roles, with AI playing a role. Coinbase cut 700 jobs, or 14%, citing AI efficiency. PayPal plans to cut over 4,500 jobs, around 20% of its workforce, focusing on AI adoption.
Snap cut roughly 16% of its global workforce, about 1,000 employees. CEO Evan Spiegel said, “Rapid advancements in artificial intelligence enable our teams to reduce repetitive work, increase velocity, and better support our community.” IBM has eliminated between 3,000 and 9,000 U.S. positions this year. Estimates say over 15,000 jobs have been cut since late 2024.
Atlassian cut 1,600 jobs, or 10% of its workforce, to shift toward AI. Dell’s workforce fell by about 11,000 jobs, a 10% drop, in fiscal 2026. Block cut 4,000 jobs, nearly half its workforce, in February. Salesforce laid off fewer than 1,000 employees in the same period.
Jack Dorsey, co-founder of Block, said, “We’re already seeing that the intelligence tools we’re creating and using, paired with smaller and flatter teams, are enabling a new way of working.” This shows how AI is not just cutting jobs but changing company structures and work styles.
The shift to AI is making companies rethink how they build and run their teams. It’s not only about fewer jobs but different jobs and new expectations. Workers face more pressure even if they keep their roles. The tech industry is in the middle of a major transformation. It will affect millions of jobs worldwide.
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