Tech Layoffs Top 200,000 This Year, and Some Fear More Job Losses

More than 200,000 tech workers have lost their jobs so far in 2026, according to the TrueUp layoffs tracker, and layoffs are moving faster than last year. Some analysts fear the cuts could spread. If job losses reach beyond tech, they warn, another 1.6 million people could be laid off, pushing unemployment closer to recession levels.

What happened

Meta began laying off 8,000 people in May. In recent weeks, Google extended a voluntary buyout program, which pays employees to leave, to select staff in five countries. Canva cut 22% of its staff, laying off or relocating 1,271 people. Companies that have cut or bought out 1,000 or more workers this year include:

• Microsoft: 60,000
• Oracle: 21,000
• Amazon: 17,000, on top of 14,000 in 2025
• Uber: 3,300
• Netflix: 1,000

The cuts are not limited to struggling firms. Profitable companies with strong revenue are cutting too.

Why AI is at the center

Companies have spent billions on AI. Goldman Sachs says another $3.2 trillion of spending does not show up on balance sheets. Returns so far do not justify that scale, so companies are cutting labor costs and counting on AI to make up the lost productivity. It has not always worked. Salesforce and Ford ended up rehiring or hiring new people after AI-driven layoffs.

Who it affects

The US is not officially in a recession, and layoffs do not appear to be spreading yet. Overall job cuts are the lowest since 2022. But younger workers face a harder market. Entry-level hiring is down by a third in the most AI-exposed jobs since 2021. Retail and finance are common first rungs for young people. Lisa Countryman-Quiroz of the workforce nonprofit JVS Bay Area said she is concerned about the erosion of stable career pathways. Healthcare is a bright spot, adding 42,000 jobs last month.

What happens next

Politics could play a role. Backlash against data centers became a campaign issue before the midterms, and tech and AI-linked stocks fell after the vote as investors worried about new rules on AI. A weaker market can make companies more cautious about hiring and spending, which could mean more cuts. Whether layoffs actually spread to other industries is not yet known.

What to do

• Hiring managers and job seekers in AI-exposed fields should expect tighter entry-level hiring.
• Keep some savings in case the cuts spread.
• Canva's package shows what to look for in a severance deal: six months of pay, a year of healthcare and a $10,000 grant.