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Open Tech Layoffs Surge As Corporate America's AI Blitz Raises Fears The Worst Is Yet To ComeTech Layoffs Surge As Corporate America's AI Blitz Raises Fears The Worst Is Yet To Come
Bloomberg story counts featuring terms such as "job cuts," "layoffs," and "firings" jumped Thursday to their highest level since early May.
The surge in AI-related layoff announcements shows corporate America is ramping up efforts to reduce its workforce and replace humans with chatbots and other AI-related technologies to drive efficiency.
The latest headlines span American Express on Friday morning, Barclays on Thursday, and eBay and Netflix in recent days and weeks.
The AI layoffs are here: *AMERICAN EXPRESS TO CUT 5% OF JOBS, ABOUT 3,500 EMPLOYEES *BARCLAYS TO CUT 5,000 JOBS AS AI STARTS CREATING EFFICIENCY *EBAY CONFIRMS JOB CUTS OF ABOUT 9% *NETFLIX TO LAY OFF 6% OF GLOBAL STAFF, OR ABOUT 1,000 JOBS: WSJ
— zerohedge (@zerohedge) October 23, 2026
Separately, Yahoo Tech's Katie Teague and Valentina Palladino cite data from job tracker TrueUp showing that tech companies have cut more than 190,000 jobs this year.
The cuts in the technology space build on the 245,000 layoffs across the sector last year.
Some of the most notable cuts this year have come from Oracle, which eliminated 21,000 jobs over the past year, roughly 13% of its workforce. Oracle linked workforce reductions to its deployment of AI.
"The adoption and deployment of AI technologies across our operations have resulted, and may continue to result, in reductions to our workforce," Oracle said.
Microsoft's latest round affected 4,800 jobs, primarily in its Xbox gaming division. That followed 14,000 tech job losses in June across companies including Lucid, Bungie, and Robinhood. Samsung, Zillow, and even TikTok have pushed forward with job cuts.
The list of tech job losses below highlights increasing pressure on companies to reduce their total workforce and adopt AI and restructure operations, a trend that could accelerate into the new year:
October 2026
eBay
eBay will reportedly cut 9% of its workforce in an effort to streamline operations. The latest job cuts come after a previous round of layoffs back in February, which affected about 800 positions. "As we work to capture the significant opportunity ahead, this step was taken to ensure we continue to operate from a position of strength by aligning our teams and resources with our top strategic priorities," an eBay spokesperson said in a statement.
Electronic Arts (EA)
Video game publisher EA will eliminate 400 jobs, or about 3% of its workforce. This includes shutting down BioWare, the development studio behind the Mass Effect games. The next Mass Effect title will be canceled as a result of the layoffs. These job cuts come after EA told investors earlier this year that it would reduce research and development costs as part of a plan to save upward of $700 million.
Netflix
According to a report in The Wall Street Journal, Netflix will lay off about 1,000 people, accounting for about 6% of its global workforce. The report says the bulk of the layoffs will affect Netflix's "product, tech, legal and human-resources teams." This latest round of layoffs is the biggest for the company since 2022, and it comes as Netflix struggles to increase customer engagement and overall growth.
Airtable
A "large part" of the Airtable team was laid off on October 12. Federico Simionato, Airtable owner Bending Spoons' product leader, said on X that the layoffs were not due to the workers' abilities but rather to the company's "deep belief that small teams ship more and better." The exact number of employees affected by the layoffs wasn't disclosed.
Amazon
Amazon has reportedly laid off "fewer than 1,000 white-collar workers" in its stores division. That's the part of the company that oversees the tech giant's e-commerce website. Employees in the U.S., India, and the United Kingdom were reportedly affected.
Workday
Workday will lay off around 140 employees in the Bay Area as part of an effort to trim its tech team. The cuts come as part of a broader plan to cut the company's global workforce by 2.5%.
September 2026
Xbox
Xbox announced it had eliminated 268 roles across Halo Studios, other first-party studios, and additional areas of the Xbox Game Studios division. These layoffs are part of a "reset" it announced this summer; the company had already laid off 1,600 people in July and said at the time that an additional 1,600 terminations were still to come.
Apple
According to a Bloomberg report, Apple has laid off an undisclosed number of employees from Fitness+, the company's exercise subscription service. According to the report, the layoffs affected those who worked on the audio side of the division, which includes features like Time to Walk and Time to Run guided audio workouts. Reportedly, offerings like these will be reduced but not eliminated completely from the service.
Oracle
Oracle employees were impacted by yet another round of layoffs in September. The total number of employees laid off this time around is not currently known. The tech giant reportedly sent employees early-morning emails on Monday, September 14, letting those affected know it would be their last working day. It's also reported that, with these layoffs, Oracle is looking to offset the amount of money it is pouring into AI chips and data centers. Earlier this year, Oracle laid off 21,000 people.
Uber
Uber announced it will cut 3,300 jobs, or about 10% of its workforce, in a big restructuring effort. "We are removing layers, simplifying team structures, refining our global location strategy, and focusing our people and investments against the biggest opportunities ahead of us," CEO Dara Khosrowshahi said in a statement. While the cuts apply to both regular employees and managers, the company stated it will reduce the "number of employees who sit 7+ layers from the CEO" by 20%, and it will cut the number of "micro-teams" by almost 50%. The CEO's memo did not mention AI as a catalyst for the layoffs, but it did explain that this restructuring will allow Uber to bring its services to more people, invest in more drivers and merchants, and "build the autonomous future."
August 2026
Apple
According to an AppleInsider report, Apple laid off at least 60 people in its Vision Group, which is the team responsible for the Vision Pro VR headset. A Bloomberg report notes that Apple is also eliminating roles in its Intelligent Systems Experience group, which is partially responsible for some of the AI systems on Apple devices. Overall, it's estimated that the layoffs affect more than 200 people.
When it comes to the Vision Group and Vision Pro, it's been reported that incoming CEO John Ternus would be putting that product category "on ice," so this seems like the start of that process. The Vision Pro headset came out in 2024 with an eye-watering $3,699 starting price, and it remains to be seen if Apple will be pulling out of the AR/VR category entirely in the future. The Intelligent Systems changes are reportedly tied to necessary changes in the technical architecture of Apple's newly AI-infused Siri.
TikTok
The New York Times reported that TikTok will lay off 250 people and close its Nashville, Tennessee, office in October. This location was home to some of TikTok's content moderation team, although the company has not specified the reason for the layoffs or which teams they primarily affect. "We have decided to close our Nashville office to streamline our operations and better align our teams for long-term growth," a press officer for what is known as the TikTok U.S.D.S. Joint Venture said in a statement to the Times.
Zillow
Zillow will lay off just over 500 people as it enacts organizational changes across the company. "These are difficult decisions that reflect both the strides we're making in our strategy and the reality of what is required of us to grow at scale," CEO Jeremy Wacksman wrote in a press release. Wacksman didn't go into detail about what organizational changes were made or which departments are bearing the brunt of the layoffs. "These changes are about ensuring we have a disciplined cost structure and getting more efficient, with the right people in the right positions," he wrote.
Etsy
Etsy laid off about 220 people, or 12% of its workforce, as it attempts to simplify its organizational structure. The cuts primarily affected the product and engineering teams, and Etsy CEO Kruti Patel Goyal said that the layoffs were necessary to build "the organization we believe Etsy needs for the future." An Etsy spokesperson told CNBC that the cuts were not driven by artificial intelligence adoption.
July 2026
Microsoft
Microsoft has begun another round of layoffs that affects 4,800 jobs, or around 2.1% of its workforce. The Xbox division is getting hit the hardest, with 3,200 roles getting cut through fiscal year 2027, Xbox chief Asha Sharma said in a post on X. A total of 1,600 people were let go on July 6. Shortly after those layoffs were revealed, it was announced that Sharma was appointed to a U.S. Federal Reserve task force to help advise it on "productivity and jobs." Other appointees include Marc Andreessen of Andreessen Horowitz and Charles I. Jones, professor of economics at Stanford University.
Intel
Intel is reportedly downsizing its data center group, despite strong performance. The company hasn't disclosed how many roles would be affected.
Visa
Visa will cut about 2,600 jobs, which amounts to about 7% of its workforce. The layoffs will primarily affect the technology and product teams, and the impetus, in part, is to make the company more efficient. "To capture the opportunities ahead and best position Visa to lead this transformation, we must continue evolving how we work," Chief Executive Officer Ryan McInerney wrote in a memo. "AI is also helping to accelerate this evolution and shape the way work gets done at Visa." But according to Bloomberg's report, AI was not the only factor to influence Visa's decision to carry out these layoffs. The company reportedly intends to reinvest in things like consumer payments and value-added services such as stablecoins.
Monday.com
Software company Monday.com will lay off 20% of its workforce, which comes out to about 630 people. This comes as the company makes a pivot to AI and is attempting to make its AI platform a core offering of its business. Earlier this year, it designed its main product around the idea that business customers increasingly want their employees to work with AI agents.
Patreon
Patreon laid off 20% of its workforce, or 93 people, as part of what it described as "changing our organizational structure and how we work." But Patreon was explicit in its email to creators and staff that "we are not making the above changes because we believe AI replaces humans." However, the email also said, "AI has fundamentally transformed the tech industry, though, including how we work."
Uber
Uber has reportedly laid off 10% of its customer service division, according to a Bloomberg report, as it looks to "embrace artificial intelligence" and simplify its ranks. The company also stated in May that it would slow hiring as it makes greater internal use of AI.
Samsung
Samsung is eliminating 179 jobs as it moves its New Jersey headquarters to Texas later this year. The move is expected to impact around 1,000 workers. We're now getting a fuller picture of what that looks like: according to Reuters, 739 roles at Samsung's New Jersey location have been affected in some way. Some employees have been offered relocation packages as the company shifts its headquarters to Texas, while others have been let go. In addition, it's reported that 100 employees at its Texas location, primarily in the mobile division, have also been let go.
Amazon
Amazon will lay off some people in its artificial general intelligence group, although the company has not disclosed how many roles will be affected. "This is a fast-moving space, and we're sharpening our focus on the initiatives that matter most for customers, so we can move faster on what counts," an Amazon spokesperson told CNBC.
June 2026
Bungie
Sony Interactive Entertainment released a statement saying it's cutting "a significant number of employees" from its Bungie workforce. That includes most of the Destiny team and some Marathon team members, as well as SIE teams that support Bungie's operations. The email didn't say how many employees were affected.
Lucid
Electric vehicle maker Lucid announced it's cutting around 18% of its workforce and also noted that COO Marc Winterhoff is leaving the company, Reuters reported. The layoffs are in an effort to "boost profitability amid growing competition." The cuts affect full-time employees, contractors, and hourly manufacturing workers.
Rackspace
Cloud computing services company Rackspace laid off 750 workers, or around 15% of its workforce. The cuts are driven by a shift in focus toward AI.
Rivian
EV company Rivian let go of hundreds of employees, which amounts to around 2% of the company's workforce, The Wall Street Journal reported. Those affected were part of Rivian's service and customer organization, which handled marketing and sales.
Robinhood
Trading platform company Robinhood is planning to lay off 10% of its staff to restructure, the Robinhood Comms account said on X. That amounts to around 290 jobs. It's unclear if the layoffs are AI-related, but CEO Vlad Tenev noted the company will be "utilizing frontier technologies to push our execution even further."
Salesforce
Salesforce laid off at least 86 employees in California, though Business Insider sources say job cuts also occurred in Washington and outside the U.S.. The cuts reportedly affect employees involved with Salesforce's Agentforce AI product, MuleSoft IT integration tool, and Marketing Cloud software.
May 2026
Groupon
Groupon is planning to lay off roughly 25% of its workforce, which will result in 400 job cuts. Those positions are expected to be eliminated by the end of the third quarter. This is in an effort to restructure the company and rebuild it as an AI-native company.
Wix
In another set of AI-related layoffs, website builder Wix said it was cutting around 20% of staff. Wix co-founder and CEO Avishai Abrahami announced the cuts on X, pointing to the changes AI is bringing to the industry and stating, "we need to become a faster, leaner, and flatter organization." He also put part of the blame on the Israeli shekel-to-U.S. dollar exchange rate, which affects the company because it's based in Israel. The cuts are expected to impact around 1,000 roles, based on Wix's headcount.
Webflow
Webflow, a website builder and hosting company, conducted a round of layoffs that an employee called "a bloodbath" in a statement to the San Francisco Chronicle. It's unclear how many employees were impacted, but one anonymous developer from the company told the Chronicle they believed it was larger than Webflow's last major round of layoffs, which affected 8% of its workforce in 2024. As with other recent layoffs, it looks like a shift to AI is to blame here. "AI is rewriting the rules for how marketing teams create, test, and optimize digital experiences," CEO Linda Tong said in a statement. "And the companies that move decisively through moments like this are the ones that come out ahead."
ClickUp
ClickUp CEO Zeb Evans announced that the company cut 22% of its workforce as it turns toward AI to improve productivity. He claimed it "wasn't about cutting costs," but about funneling savings from the cuts "directly back into the people who stay." The company has introduced million-dollar salary bands reserved for employees who "create outsized impact using AI."
Intuit
Intuit is planning to lay off 3,000 employees, or about 17% of its workforce, Reuters reports. CEO Sasan Goodarzi sent a memo to employees noting the layoffs would help the company's efforts to infuse AI across its services.
Meta
Meta has officially begun cutting 10% of its workforce, totaling around 8,000 employees. In addition, it plans to close 6,000 open roles. The reason is to allow more room for AI spending.
NPR
Like Microsoft, NPR is offering voluntary buyouts to 300 employees in the newsroom, but only 30 will be accepted. However, if the news organization doesn't reach its target number of buyouts, it will conduct targeted layoffs. The cuts are due to the loss of federal funding.
Amazon
The online retail giant cut more jobs this month, this time from the Selling Partner Services organization. These new layoffs come after Amazon cut roughly 30,000 jobs in rounds in October and January. A spokesperson told Business Insider that the most recent layoffs have affected a "small number" of employees. The Selling Partner Services team works with third-party merchants on Amazon, providing onboarding, logistics, and account management support.
Cisco
Cisco is cutting just under 4,000 jobs in Q4, CEO Chuck Robbins said in a blog post. Impacted employees will receive prorated payments of their 2026 bonuses and will also receive "support in finding new opportunities" via Cisco's placement services. In June, it was confirmed that the layoffs include 471 workers in the Bay Area.
"While we are reducing roles in some areas, we are making clear, strategic investments, particularly in silicon, optics, security, and in our employees' use of AI across the company," Robbins said.
LinkedIn
LinkedIn is planning to lay off 5% of its staff, which is around 875 employees, Reuters reports. An anonymous person told Reuters the reason is to reorganize teams and focus employees on areas where its business is growing. However, one of the sources said the reason was "not for artificial intelligence to replace jobs at LinkedIn."
General Motors
GM is letting go of around 500 to 600 employees in the information technology sector, Bloomberg reports. The reason is to "trim costs and clear the way to bring in staff with skills in other technology areas."
Cloudflare
Due to restructuring driven by AI, Cloudflare is laying off more than 1,100 employees. "Today's actions are not a cost-cutting exercise or an assessment of individuals' performance; They are about Cloudflare defining how a world-class, high-growth company operates and creates value in the agentic AI era," Prince and President Michelle Zatlyn said in an email to employees.
PayPal
PayPal is planning to cut around 20% of its staff, or nearly 4,800 employees, over the next few years, according to The Wall Street Journal. "First, we will remove duplication and layers from our organizational structure. Second, we will accelerate our AI adoption and automation across our operations," CEO Enrique Lores said to investors.
Coinbase
Cryptocurrency platform Coinbase is laying off 700 employees, which amounts to around 14% of its staff. CEO Brian Armstrong cites current market conditions and AI-driven changes in how the company works as reasons for the layoffs.
April 2026
Microsoft
Microsoft is offering a first-ever buyout to up to 7% of its employees, CNBC reports. It's a one-time retirement program that's available for workers at the senior director level and below whose combined age and years of employment total 70 or more.
Nike
Nike announced it's laying off 1,400 people this week. "Collectively, these changes will result in a reduction of approximately 1,400 roles in global operations, with the majority in technology," COO Venkatesh Alagirisamy said. "These reductions are very hard for the teammates directly affected and for the teams around them, too."
Amazon
Amazon is planning to temporarily close a warehouse in Homestead, Florida, which will eliminate more than 600 jobs, Newsweek reports. The job cuts will start in July and continue through September, but the company is giving employees the option to relocate to other facilities. The warehouse has only been open for just under two years, but Amazon is already looking to update the site.
Redwood Materials
Battery recycling company Redwood Materials laid off 10% of its employees, totaling 135 people, TechCrunch reports. Those who were let go received an email from the chief HR officer telling them the layoffs were made "to sharpen our focus, our work and the size of our teams to support the direction Redwood is going in the future."
Snap
Snap is laying off 1,000 workers, which is 16% of its staff, Variety reports. The Snapchat parent company made the announcement just weeks after Irenic Capital Management asked the company to make changes to improve performance and revenue.
Snap is using AI to streamline operations and assist the now-smaller workforce. "We have already witnessed small squads leveraging AI tools to drive meaningful progress across several important initiatives," Snap CEO Evan Spiegel said.
Disney
Just two months after taking over as CEO of Disney, Josh D'Amaro announced the company is laying off 1,000 of its employees, AP News reports. In addition, Marvel let 8% of its staff go after the call was made.
"Over the past several months, we have looked at ways in which we can streamline our operations in various parts of the company to ensure we deliver the world-class creativity and innovation our fans value and expect from Disney," D'Amaro said in a memo to employees. "Given the fast-moving pace of our industries, this requires us to constantly assess how to foster a more agile and technologically-enabled workforce to meet tomorrow's needs."
GoPro
The wearable camera maker will eliminate 145 positions this year due to a restructuring plan to cut costs, The Wall Street Journal reported. The cuts are expected to last until the end of the year.
Vimeo
Vimeo is going through its third round of layoffs since it was acquired by Bending Spoons. This time, the company let go of more than 120 people, which is about 25% of its city staff.
Meta
It's been reported that 200 Meta employees in the Bay Area will lose their jobs at the end of May. That includes 124 employees in Burlingame and 74 in Sunnyvale. The company last laid off workers just a few weeks ago.
March 2026
Oracle
Oracle has begun implementing a big cull of its employee base. On the final day of March, more than a dozen Oracle employees announced on LinkedIn they had been let go from their jobs, Business Insider reports. It's unclear at this time how many workers were affected, but it was projected to be thousands at the start of this month.
Those laid off received the same email: "After careful consideration of Oracle's current business needs, we have made the decision to eliminate your role as part of a broader organizational change."
The job cuts are reportedly to help Oracle stem a cash drain related to its expenditures on AI infrastructure. In June, Oracle revealed that it had laid off 21,000 people as part of the cuts.
Eidos-Montréal
Deus Ex studio Eidos-Montréal announced on March 30 that it's laying off 124 people. In response, studio head David Anfossi has decided to leave the company.
The cuts are a result of "changing project needs and impacts across production and support teams," the gaming company said in a LinkedIn post. It also noted that the decision to lay off these employees is not related to their talent or performance.
T-Mobile
After already having layoffs in January, T-Mobile has cut even more of its workers, GeekWire reports. It's unclear how many people were laid off at this time, but it could be in the hundreds.
"To move even faster in a dynamic market while continuing to deliver best-in-class digital experiences for our customers, we're further aligning our IT organization to support future growth and innovation… This includes the difficult decision of eliminating some roles while continuing to invest and hire in areas," T-Mobile told GeekWire in a statement.
Meta
Meta began laying off hundreds of employees on March 25, totaling around 700 people, per The New York Times. Those impacted were part of the Reality Labs team, as well as social media and recruiting teams. Though still significant, this is a much smaller number compared to a Reuters report that suggested 20% of staff would be affected by layoffs due to the increased spending on AI.
This change comes as the company is shifting away from its metaverse creation, which includes Horizon Worlds for its Quest VR headset that's operated by the Reality Labs team.
Epic Games
The gaming giant on March 24 announced it was laying off more than 1,000 workers in an effort to right-size the staff of its popular free-to-play online shooter, Fortnite. CEO Tim Sweeney sent a note to his staff, citing the "downturn in Fortnite engagement," which means "we're spending significantly more than we're making, and we have to make major cuts to keep the company funded." He made it a point to note the layoffs are not related to AI.
Ubisoft
Ubisoft laid off 105 employees from the Red Storm Entertainment team in an effort to cut costs, IGN reports. Game development has ended at the studio, so the downsizing will remain permanent. The company employed 180 people in 2022 but has seen multiple layoffs over the years.
Atlassian
Roughly 1,600 employees were laid off at Atlassian on March 16, which is around 10% of total workers. Ahead of the layoffs, Atlassian CEO Mike Cannon-Brookes shared a message with the entire team, letting them know the reason was to "self-fund further investment in AI and enterprise sales, while strengthening our financial profile. We're also changing the way we work and reorganising around our System of Work to move faster." Impacted employees received an email shortly after this message went out.
Together, this all shows an acceleration by corporate America to streamline operations and improve productivity in the era of AI.
Tyler Durden
Fri, 10/23/2026 - 10:25