2026 tech layoffs surpass all of 2025 with 128,000 jobs cut

The global technology industry has shed more jobs in the first nine months of 2026 than in all of 2025, as companies from Oracle ↘ 1.74% to Amazon Amazon.com, Inc. ↗ 1.94% restructure workforces to fund a sweeping pivot toward artificial intelligence infrastructure.

Data from tracking platform Layoffs.fyi shows that 128,536 technology employees across 299 companies were laid off globally by September 10, surpassing the 122,606 layoffs recorded across 278 companies during the entirety of 2025. The pace accelerated in September, with more than 6,300 jobs eliminated in the first 10 days of the month alone.business-standard+1

The Biggest Cuts

Oracle leads the tally with 21,000 layoffs — roughly 13 percent of its workforce — disclosed in its fiscal year 2026 annual filing with the SEC. The company cited "the integration and utilization of AI technologies throughout our operations" as a driver of the reductions, according to reporting by CNBC and Quartz. The restructuring cost $1.8 billion in severance and related expenses.ghacks+2

Amazon follows with 17,267 layoffs spread across five rounds, while Dell ↗ 11.98% cut 11,000 jobs in March. Meta ↗ 0.57% trimmed 10,400 employees over four rounds, including an 8,000-person reduction in May. Microsoft ↗ 0.65% cut 4,800, and PayPal ↗ 0.77% eliminated 4,760 as part of a turnaround plan aimed at saving $400 million by year-end.business-standard+1

Uber ↘ 1.23% added to September's toll by announcing roughly 3,300 layoffs — 10 percent of its staff and its largest cuts since the pandemic. CEO Dara Khosrowshahi told employees the company would reduce management ranks by 20 percent, flatten teams and redirect savings toward growth, according to The New York Times. Uber also ceased operations in Nigeria and Uganda as part of the restructuring, Al Jazeera reported.nytimes+1

India Absorbs a Growing Share

The global wave has hit India on two fronts. Multinational companies including PayPal, Oracle and Amazon trimmed offshore engineering and operations teams, with staffing analysts estimating 10,000 to 15,000 roles eliminated in Indian units this year. Simultaneously, domestic IT giants saw net headcount declines: Tata Consultancy Services recorded a net reduction exceeding 23,000 employees, while Tech Mahindra and Wipro lowered campus recruitment targets. Total Indian job losses are estimated between 25,000 and 35,000.english.gujaratsamachar

AI Reshapes the Workforce

Experts say AI is a contributing factor but not the sole driver. Chetan Mangalwedhe, CEO of hiring platform TalentiFi-X, told Business Standard that "roughly a quarter to a third of this wave represents genuine task replacement through AI and automation. The rest is largely cost reset and workforce restructuring". Major tech companies are expected to spend about $725 billion on capital expenditure in 2026, up 77 percent from approximately $410 billion in 2025, with AI infrastructure absorbing much of the increase.business-standard

"Some of the job losses will eventually come back, but the workforce structure of 2021 is unlikely to return," Mangalwedhe said.business-standard