Tech Industry Sheds Over Thirty Thousand Jobs in Six Weeks as AI Reshapes the Workforce

A Historic Wave of Job Cuts

The technology industry has eliminated more than thirty thousand seven hundred positions globally in the first six weeks of twenty twenty-six, according to analysis from financial research firm RationalFX. The figures, drawn from data compiled by TrueUp, TechCrunch, and multiple US state WARN databases, place the sector on track to surpass twenty twenty-five's estimated two hundred and forty-five thousand job cuts.

The United States accounts for roughly eighty percent of the total, with approximately twenty-four thousand six hundred eliminations. Sweden ranks second with one thousand nine hundred cuts, followed by the Netherlands with one thousand seven hundred.

Amazon Leads the Charge

Amazon represents the single largest contributor, slashing around sixteen thousand corporate positions in January. The move came just months after fourteen thousand cuts announced in October twenty twenty-five. Beth Galetti, Amazon's senior vice president of people experience and technology, described the layoffs as part of efforts to reduce bureaucracy and increase ownership. CEO Andy Jassy has acknowledged that AI will mean fewer people doing certain jobs in the years ahead.

Meta Pivots Away from the Metaverse

Meta Platforms cut approximately one thousand five hundred employees from its Reality Labs division, representing roughly ten percent of the unit's workforce. The cuts came alongside studio closures and product retirements as the company redirects resources from costly metaverse investments toward artificial intelligence and wearables. Reality Labs has posted cumulative losses exceeding eighty billion dollars since twenty twenty.

Enterprise Software and Beyond

Salesforce cut fewer than one thousand roles across marketing, product management, and its AI teams. Block eliminated about one thousand one hundred positions, while Autodesk shed roughly one thousand jobs to redirect investment toward AI and cloud platforms. In Europe, Ericsson is cutting one thousand nine hundred jobs in Sweden amid a sluggish 5G market, and ASML announced one thousand seven hundred reductions.

Oracle's Looming Shadow

Analysts at TD Cowen project Oracle may eliminate between twenty thousand and thirty thousand positions to fund its AI data centre expansion, though the company has not confirmed such plans. If realised, these cuts alone could dramatically accelerate the year's total.

At the current pace, analysts project global tech layoffs could reach approximately two hundred and seventy-three thousand by year end, marking twenty twenty-six as potentially the worst year for tech employment in recent history.