Cloudflare latest to cut jobs: How AI has led to more than 90,000 layoffs this year

Cloudflare has decided to lay off 20 per cent of its workforce. The cybersecurity company said on Thursday (May 7) it will cut more than 1,100 jobs globally as it restructures operations around adopting artificial intelligence (AI) tools.

"We want to be clear that this decision is not a reflection of the individual work or talent of those leaving us," Cloudflare executives said in the memo. "Instead, we are reimagining every internal process, team, and role across the company."

Several companies have said they are trimming their workforce this year, affecting thousands of jobs.

Let’s take a closer look.

Cloudflare slashes jobs

Cloudflare on Thursday announced it is reducing 20 per cent of its workforce globally. The company had 5,156 full-time employees by the end of 2025, as per Reuters.

Cloudflare's shares plunged over 14 per cent in extended trading following the announcement.

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Cloudflare CEO Matthew Prince and co-founder Michelle Zatlyn told employees in a message that the firm was ​reimagining every team and function to operate in an "agentic AI ​era".

As per Cloudflare, its internal use of AI had surged by over 600 per cent in just three months. Employees across departments, including engineering, HR, finance and marketing, run thousands of AI agent sessions every day.

How many layoffs in 2026?

Tech companies are increasingly slashing jobs, with more than 93,000 roles cut across 106 companies in just the first five months of 2026.

Workforce reductions have affected a broad range of industries, including tech, media, finance, and retail.

Freshworks and cryptocurrency exchange Coinbase are the latest companies to announce layoffs. Many of the tech companies are citing AI and automation, which is leading to teams being completely restructured, as the reason for these job cuts.

A total of 124,201 job cuts were reported in 2025, according to tech layoffs tracking platform Layoffs.fyi.

In 2026, more than 100 other companies have already filed WARN notices about job cuts to come this year, Business Insider noted, citing WARN Tracker.

According to a World Economic Forum survey last year, some 41 per cent of companies globally are expected to cut their workforces in the next five years due to the rise of AI. Jobs in big data, fintech, and AI are also projected to double by 2030, the survey found.

Which companies have cut jobs in 2026?

Freshworks Inc recently said it will trim 11 per cent of its global workforce, impacting around 500 employees. This is the third round of layoffs at the Chennai-based Software-as-a-Service (SaaS) firm in recent years.

Earlier this week, Coinbase CEO Brian Armstrong said it is cutting 14 per cent of its workforce, affecting under 700 of its employees. He said the layoffs were partly due to a crypto downturn and the company is adapting itself in the age of AI.

In January, Amazon announced it is paring 16,000 corporate jobs, which affected employees in the United States, the United Kingdom and India.

The company had laid off 14,000 employees in October last year. With this, the e-commerce giant has shelved 30,000 jobs in recent months.

The job cuts were required to strengthen the company by “reducing layers, increasing ownership, and removing bureaucracy” at Amazon, Beth Galetti, senior vice president of people experience and technology at the company, said in a post at the time.

Major Indian IT services companies such as Tata Consultancy Services (TCS), Infosys, Wipro, HCLTech, and Tech Mahindra have reported a combined net reduction of 6,981 employees in FY26.

Snapchat’s parent also announced plans to cut 1,000 jobs, about 16 per cent of its full-time workforce, while removing more than 300 vacant roles.

In April, Oracle cut around 30,000 roles globally, impacting a third of its employees in India. The cuts largely affected technology functions as the company reexamined returns on its AI-led investments.

Around 1,000 employees, or roughly 10 per cent of its workforce, were fired at Oracle Financial Services Software.

Earlier this year, Citi announced plans to slash its workforce by 10 per cent, or 20,000 employees. "These changes reflect adjustments we're making to ensure our staffing levels, locations and expertise align with current business needs," a spokesperson for the company said.

Expedia told Business Insider in January that it carried out job cuts and had also posted new openings.

"We are eliminating roles as well as opening some new roles as we remain disciplined about assessing the skills we need for the future," an Expedia Group spokesperson said in a statement. "We are also simplifying our structure and reducing organisational layers to move faster and with more accountability. These are not easy decisions, and we are grateful for the contributions of our colleagues who are impacted."

Athleisure brand Lululemon sacked 100 part-time employees to "strengthen the business." The affected roles were in the company's North American contact center.

"After careful consideration, we have made the decision to transition our North America GEC to a full-time employee staffing model. As a result, approximately 100 part-time positions in our GEC have been impacted," a Lululemon spokesperson said.

Last month, Meta said it would cut thousands of jobs next month amid its increased spending on AI projects.

The company told employees in a memo that it plans to reduce 10 per cent of its workforce, roughly 8,000 staff. It also decided not to fill thousands more open jobs it had been recruiting for.

As per Business Insider, UPS CEO Brian Dykes informed analysts during the company's fourth-quarter earnings call that the company will cut its operational workforce by 30,000 in 2026.

"This will be accomplished through attrition, and we expect to offer a second voluntary separation programme for full-time drivers," Dykes said.

Workday said in February that it is reducing 400 jobs, primarily affecting customer-facing roles that are "non-revenue generating".

With inputs from agencies