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Amazon, Block, and Other Tech Giants Announce Layoffs Driven by AI
In 2026, tech layoffs are surging, with major companies citing AI development as a key driver.
Anna Helhoski is a senior writer covering economic news and trends in consumer finance at NerdWallet. She is an on-air contributor and producer of Money News segments for NerdWallet's Smart Money podcast. She is also an authority on student loans. She joined NerdWallet in 2014. Her work has been syndicated in news outlets nationwide including The Associated Press, The New York Times, The Washington Post, The Los Angeles Times and USA Today. She previously covered local news in the New York metro area for the Daily Voice and New York state politics for The Legislative Gazette. She holds a bachelor's degree in journalism from Purchase College, State University of New York.
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Updated March 19.
So far in 2026, roughly 60 tech companies have laid off just under 40,000 workers.
Several major companies have explicitly pointed to investments in AI research and development as the driving force behind recent job cuts.
Amazon announced on Jan. 28 it would cut about 16,000 more roles across the company, following an October trim of 14,000 jobs.
In February, Block — led by Twitter co-founder Jack Dorsey — cut 4,000 jobs, or about 40% of its staff.
On March 11, Atlassian laid off 1,600 workers.
This week, reports said that Oracle has plans to lay off around 20,000 to 30,000 workers.
On March 16, Dell said it reduced its global staff by 10%, or nearly 11,000 workers.
2026 tech layoffs
So far in 2026, roughly 60 tech companies have laid off just under 40,000 workers.
The tech industry is sometimes seen as a bellwether of what’s happening in the broader economy. Layoffs could signal that investor confidence is declining and even slowing economic growth.
The total number of tech layoffs in 2025 was 122,549 across 257 companies according to layoffs.fyi., which tracks job cuts in the tech industry. That’s down from 152,922 employees laid off from 551 companies in 2024, according to layoffs.fyi.
Companies that announced layoffs in waves of more than 10,000 workers included some of the biggest names in tech: Intel, Amazon, Tesla, Google, Meta and Microsoft.
When did all of the tech layoffs start?
Roger Lee, creator of Layoffs.fyi, has been following layoffs in tech since 2020 as startups started laying off employees during the early days of the pandemic. According to Lee, the pandemic created an opportunity for people to increasingly turn to the Internet for work, shopping and socializing. In response, tech companies went on a hiring spree to meet consumer demand.
This growth in tech employment started in late 2020 and lasted through 2021. At the same time the Federal Reserve’s policy slashed interest rates throughout 2021, which enabled tech companies to raise capital and invest in growth, Lee said. But both trends reversed in early 2022.
The majority of layoffs at the beginning of 2022 came from startups, according to Lee. But in late 2022 and early 2023 it started to creep into bigger tech, as well. Lee also said that “Big Tech” layoffs like those seen at Meta and Twitter “present a unique opportunity to recruit a caliber of talent that would've previously been impossible to attract.”
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