As we near the end of January 2026, mounting warnings from business leaders and economists suggest that artificial intelligence is accelerating workforce disruption across the global tech sector.
After a year marked by widespread job cuts, companies are increasingly restructuring around automation, machine learning and efficiency gains, placing not just individual roles at risk, but entire job functions. To better understand the scale of this shift, I am sharing our report, which reveals the depth of tech industry layoffs around the world in 2025.
To determine which companies led 2025’s biggest job cuts, the team at RationalFX compiled layoff data from multiple verified sources, including U.S. WARN notices, TrueUp, TechCrunch, and the Layoffs. fyi tracker, covering announcements made since the start of 2025. The full ranking of tech companies by number of layoffs is available on Google Drive via this link.
According to the data, there were 244,851 tech layoffs worldwide during the year. Of these, 69,840 roles, around 28.5% of the global total, were cut due to company restructuring and the expanding use of AI.
The largest AI-related job losses were recorded by Amazon, one of the world’s biggest technology firms, which eliminated around 14,000 roles, followed by Tata Consultancy Services (TCS) with 12,000 layoffs, and Accenture, which reduced its workforce by approximately 11,000 positions, all linked to AI implementation and organisational restructuring.
Despite a relative slowdown in overall tech layoffs compared with 2024, when roughly 281,000 tech jobs were cut, 2025 stands out as a turning point, with AI emerging as a central driver of workforce reductions across the wider tech industry.
These Are The Tech Companies With The Most Layoffs Due To AI Implementation In 2025
- Amazon – 14,000 layoffs
- TCS – 12,000 layoffs
- Accenture – 11,000 layoffs
- IBM – 9,000 layoffs
- HP – 6,000 layoffs
- Salesforce – 4,000 layoffs
- Duolingo – 2,000 layoffs
- Workday – 1,750 layoffs
- OpenText – 1,600 layoffs
- Autodesk – 1,350 layoffs
Other highlights from the report:
- Global tech layoffs surged in 2025, with at least 244,851 employees losing their jobs worldwide as companies unwound pandemic-era over-hiring and restructured around artificial intelligence. An estimated 69,840 of these layoffs were directly linked to AI and automation, accounting for roughly 28.5% of the total and highlighting how rapidly firms are shifting toward AI-first operating models.
- The United States remained the epicentre of the layoffs in 2025, accounting for approximately 170,630 job cuts, nearly 70% of the global total, as American tech giants led investment in AI while simultaneously reducing headcount across engineering, support and corporate functions.
- Amazon led all companies in the number of AI-related job cuts in 2025, eliminating around 14,000 roles in late October as it accelerated the integration of artificial intelligence across its operations. Other major employers also carried out large-scale AI-driven layoffs, including Tata Consultancy Services (TCS), which cut 12,000 positions, and Accenture, which reduced its workforce by approximately 11,000 roles, all as part of broader AI implementation and organisational restructuring efforts.
- The trend has continued into 2026, with Meta recently announcing plans to cut around 1,500 roles as it shifts focus from long-term metaverse hardware projects, particularly VR and AR devices, towards AI-driven products and next-generation data infrastructure.
- AI-driven workforce disruption is set to intensify in 2026. The IMF has warned that ‘most countries and most businesses are not prepared’ for the pace of AI adoption, while employee concerns about AI-related job losses have jumped from 28% in 2024 to 40% in 2026. Investors are increasingly prioritising companies that provide systematic AI upskilling, signalling that effective workforce transition strategies may become a key factor in capital allocation decisions.
‘The AI-driven layoffs seen in 2025 point to a structural shift in the tech industry rather than a temporary downturn. As artificial intelligence becomes more powerful, companies are redesigning operations around automation and eliminating roles in support, administration, and middle management positions.
Unlike past cycles, these cuts are occurring alongside strong financial performance, reflecting a deliberate reallocation of investment from labour toward AI infrastructure. Looking ahead to 2026, AI-related layoffs are likely to intensify as adoption deepens, even as demand rises for specialised skills in AI engineering, data and infrastructure.’
– comments Alan Cohen, analyst at RationalFX
These conclusions were made based on layoff announcements, WARN notices, and independent layoff reports between January 2025 and January 2026. More information on the tech sector layoffs, the underlying reasons for job reductions, and our complete research methodology can be found in the full report. The raw dataset is also available on Google Drive at the following link. Feel free to use the data or graphics, provided proper attribution is given with a link to the source.
By Daniel Lane, Data Analyst
