Global Tech Workforce Shrinks by Over 118,000 Jobs Since January – See the key-factors
A research shows that more than 118,000 tech jobs have already been cut globally in just the first four months of the year, and if the pace continues, total layoffs in the technology sector could exceed 340,000 by December – significantly more than in 2025. #CIO #AI
Key highlights from the report:
- • As of May 11, at least 118,473 employees in the global tech sector have lost their jobs since the start of the year. Of those, 69,408 layoffs have been directly linked to AI adoption and investment in AI tools and infrastructure, representing 58.6% of all.
- • Oracle has announced the largest layoffs in the global tech sector so far this year, cutting more than 25,000 jobs as part of a major AI-focused restructuring. Despite reporting a 95% jump in net income, the company is redirecting resources toward AI infrastructure and large-scale data centre expansion rather than workforce growth.
- • Amazon follows with approximately 16,600 layoffs in 2026, even as the company continues generating hundreds of billions in annual revenue. The cuts are tied to efficiency measures and organisational simplification while Amazon simultaneously ramps up spending on AI and cloud infrastructure. Cognizant, ranking 3rd on our list, is reportedly preparing one of the biggest AI-linked restructurings in IT services, with between 12,000 and 15,000 jobs potentially affected under its ‘Project Leap’ initiative.
- • More than half of all global tech layoffs in 2026, roughly 69,400 jobs, are linked to AI-driven restructuring initiatives. In many cases, however, workers are not being directly replaced by AI systems yet; companies are instead reducing payrolls to free up capital for AI investments and automation projects.
- • Employees in Cloud & SaaS companies have been hit hardest, with the sector accounting for nearly 30,000 layoffs. E-commerce firms rank second with more than 20,600 cuts, highlighting how heavily restructuring is concentrated in enterprise software and online retail.
- • Meta, PayPal, and Cloudflare have all linked large-scale layoffs to AI-related operational changes. Cloudflare in particular became one of the strongest symbols of this shift after announcing over 1,100 layoffs while simultaneously reporting surging AI adoption internally and strong revenue growth.
‘Artificial intelligence is rapidly becoming the defining narrative behind the tech industry’s latest wave of layoffs, but the reality is more complex than “robots replacing humans”. In many cases, companies are cutting jobs not because AI can already fully perform the work, but because executives are racing to free up billions of dollars for AI infrastructure, automation tools, and data centres. That distinction matters: much of today’s restructuring is driven by expectations about what AI could do in the near future rather than what it can reliably achieve today at scale.
Still, the psychological impact on the workforce is already significant, especially as firms like Block and Cloudflare openly frame AI as capable of replacing certain roles or entire workflows. Whether this becomes a permanent reduction in human labour or a temporary transition toward leaner, more specialised teams will likely depend on how quickly AI systems evolve – and whether the promised productivity gains actually materialise.’
– comments Stanislava Savisheva, analyst at TradingPlatforms.
These findings are based on layoff announcements, WARN filings, and independent reports since January 2026.
The raw dataset is also accessible on Google Drive at the following link. It may be used in your work, provided proper attribution is given with a link to the original source.
Source: https://www.tradingplatforms.co.uk/research/tech-sector-layoffs/