Tech layoffs: Over 1,19,000 jobs lost in the first half of 2026

The technology industry's prolonged layoff cycle has entered another turbulent phase. Barely halfway through 2026, thousands of employees have already been shown the door as some of the world's biggest tech firms continue to slash jobs in pursuit of leaner operations and bigger artificial intelligence ambitions.

Microsoft's latest workforce reduction has once again brought the issue into sharp focus. The company announced another round of layoffs this week, with its Xbox division bearing the brunt. While businesses continue to insist that AI is creating new opportunities, growing evidence suggests it is also accelerating sweeping organisational changes that are eliminating existing roles.

The numbers paint a worrying picture. According to Layoffs.fyi, at least 1,19,494 technology workers have lost their jobs globally during the first half of 2026 alone. Although companies frequently describe the cuts as part of broader restructuring efforts, AI has emerged as a recurring theme in boardroom discussions. Some executives openly acknowledge that automation is reducing the need for certain roles, while several reports suggest that AI has also become a convenient justification for aggressive cost-cutting.

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Here are some of the biggest layoffs that have defined the industry's difficult year so far.

Microsoft

Microsoft has continued its workforce overhaul with another 4,800 job cuts, equivalent to roughly 2.1 per cent of its global workforce. Employees in the company's commercial sales operations and Xbox business have been hit hardest, with around 1,600 Xbox staff reportedly affected.

The latest cuts follow approximately 9,100 layoffs announced earlier this year. Microsoft had also introduced a voluntary retirement programme for eligible US employees, offering buyout packages to thousands of long-serving workers.

The company has steadily trimmed its workforce over the past two years while simultaneously investing billions of dollars in AI infrastructure, advanced data centres and next-generation software. The restructuring reflects Microsoft's attempt to balance enormous AI spending with investor pressure to improve efficiency and profitability.

Oracle

Oracle has disclosed that its global headcount has fallen by around 21,000 employees over this year.

In its latest annual filing, the software company said it employed approximately 1,41,000 people at the end of May 2026, compared with roughly 1,62,000 a year earlier. Oracle also acknowledged that AI adoption has already contributed to workforce reductions and could continue to influence staffing decisions going forward.

Meta

Meta eliminated nearly 8,000 jobs during another major restructuring exercise earlier this year as CEO Mark Zuckerberg intensified the company's AI strategy.

While reducing headcount across several teams, Meta is simultaneously expanding divisions focused on artificial intelligence. Around 7,000 employees are reportedly being reassigned to AI-related work, while thousands of vacant roles have also been removed as part of a broader organisational overhaul aimed at simplifying operations.

PayPal

PayPal eliminated around 20 per cent of its workforce, more than 4,500 jobs. This is marked as one of the biggest layoff by the company in over 2-3 years.

The company says the cuts form part of a wider transformation strategy centred on AI adoption. Chief executive Enrique Lores has said AI will increasingly influence software development, customer support and risk management, with a newly established AI transformation team leading the effort.

Cisco

Networking giant Cisco cuts nearly 4,000 jobs as it redirects investment towards artificial intelligence and other long-term growth areas.

The layoffs affect fewer than five per cent of Cisco's workforce and are expected to generate around $1 billion in restructuring charges. CEO Chuck Robbins has said the company must continue shifting resources towards businesses with stronger future demand, particularly AI.

Dell

Dell's workforce shrank by around 11,000 employees during fiscal 2026, reducing its headcount from approximately 108,000 to 97,000.

The company spent $569 million on severance while simultaneously forecasting that revenue from AI-optimised servers could double during the next financial year, highlighting the industry's continued pivot towards AI infrastructure.

Atlassian

Software company Atlassian reduced its workforce by roughly 1,600 employees, or around 10 per cent of its staff, as it rebalanced its business around enterprise sales and artificial intelligence.

Chief executive Mike Cannon-Brookes stressed that AI is not replacing people outright but acknowledged that it is fundamentally changing the mix of skills companies require and reducing demand for certain roles.

Block

Jack Dorsey's fintech company Block has cut approximately 4,000 jobs, reducing its workforce to fewer than 6,000 employees.

Dorsey said advances in AI-powered productivity tools are enabling smaller, flatter organisations to operate more efficiently. He also predicted that many companies would reach similar conclusions over the coming year and pursue comparable structural changes.

Amazon

Amazon has eliminated around 16,000 corporate roles, following another 14,000 layoffs announced in late 2025.

Chief executive Andy Jassy has previously warned that wider deployment of generative AI and autonomous agents would eventually reduce the need for certain corporate roles. The company says the restructuring is intended to simplify management layers, increase ownership and improve operational efficiency.

With more than 1,19,000 jobs already lost before the second half of the year has even begun, 2026 is shaping up to be another defining year for the technology industry's workforce. As AI investment continues to surge, employees across the sector are increasingly confronting an uncomfortable reality: while artificial intelligence is creating new opportunities, it is also fundamentally reshaping the nature—and the size—of the modern tech workforce.