The pace of layoffs has come in bursts rather than a steady stream, with May recording 31,513 cuts—including an 8,000-job reduction at Meta—the highest monthly figure since March 2023. After a sharp drop to 5,151 in December 2025, layoffs surged past 20,000 in January. However, recent months show signs of easing: June through August saw 19,331 layoffs, down 16.2% year over year.
Artificial intelligence has become an increasingly common justification for workforce reductions. Roger Lee, founder of Layoffs.fyi, noted that AI was cited in 33% of tech layoff events this year, up from just 1% in 2024. His data attributes 92,913 layoffs globally—72% of this year's total—to AI.
“There’s been little evidence that AI is actually replacing the work of the human employees let go,” Lee said of this year’s largest AI-attributed layoffs. He believes established tech companies are spending heavily on AI while cutting costs elsewhere, hoping to increase productivity with smaller workforces.
Large, publicly traded companies have dominated the layoff headlines. Amazon leads with 17,388 cuts through August, including a 16,000-worker reduction announced in January. Meta follows with 10,400 layoffs, including its May reduction that represented 10% of its workforce. Microsoft and PayPal each let go of 4,800 and 4,760 employees, respectively, while Block, Cisco and Cognizant each recorded 4,000 layoffs.
Big companies accounted for 87% of all layoffs in 2026, similar to 2025's 85% share. The concentration suggests that while startups are also cutting, the bulk of job losses is concentrated among the largest tech employers.