184K global tech layoffs in 2025 to date; ~27.3% related to AI replacing workers
As of October, over 184,000 global tech jobs were cut in 2025, according to a report from Silicon Valley Business Journal. 50,184 were directly related to the implementation of artificial intelligence (AI) and automation tools by businesses. Silicon Valley’s AI boom has been pummeling headcounts across major companies in the region — and globally. U.S. companies accounted for about 123,000 of the layoffs.
These are the 10 tech companies with the most significant mass layoffs since January 2025:
- Intel: 33,900 layoffs. The company has cited the need to reduce costs and restructure its organization after years of technical and financial setbacks.
- Microsoft: 19,215 layoffs. The tech giant has conducted multiple rounds of cuts throughout the year across various departments as it prioritizes AI investments.
- TCS: 12,000 layoffs. As a major IT firm, Tata Consultancy Services’ cuts largely affected mid-level and senior positions, which are becoming redundant due to AI and evolving client demands.
- Accenture: 11,000 layoffs. The consulting company reduced its headcount as it shifts toward greater automation and AI-driven services.
- Panasonic: 10,000 layoffs. The Japanese manufacturer announced these job cuts as part of a strategy to improve efficiency and focus on core business areas.
- IBM: ~17,000 to 19,700 layoffs as part of a restructuring effort to shift some roles to India and align the workforce with areas like AI and hybrid cloud. The layoffs were reportedly concentrated in certain teams, including the Cloud Classic division, and impacted locations such as Raleigh, New York, Dallas, and California.
- Amazon: 14,000 layoffs in October 2025. Cuts have impacted various areas, including the Amazon Web Services (AWS) cloud unit and the consumer retail business.
- Salesforce: 5,000 layoffs. Many of these cuts impacted the customer service division, where AI agents now handle a significant portion of client interactions.
- STMicro: 5,000 cuts in the next three years, including 2,800 job cuts announced earlier this year, its chief executive said on Wednesday. Around 2,000 employees will leave the Franco-Italian chipmaker due to attrition, bringing the total count with voluntary departures to 5,000, Jean-Marc Chery said at a June 4th event in Paris, hosted by BNP Paribas.
- Meta: 3,720 layoffs. The company has made multiple rounds of cuts targeting “low-performers” and positions within its AI and virtual reality divisions. More details below.
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Image Credit: simplehappyart via Getty Images
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Feb 3, 2026 Update from Light Reading:
- Verizon’s new CEO Dan Schulman in October said that 13,000 employees would soon be laid off. When results were published last week, as reported by Light Reading, they showed that 10,300 jobs had been cut from the total in the final three months of the year, leaving Verizon with 89,900 employees on New Year’s Eve.
- AT&T eliminated about 8,000 jobs in 2025, finishing the year with 133,000 employees.
- That total net loss of 17,700 jobs at AT&T and Verizon was equal to about 7% of the combined workforce at the end of 2024.
Last year’s job losses were not an isolated event but the continuation of a decade-old trend that has gutted the telco workforce. At its high point for staff numbers in 2017, AT&T employed as many as 280,000 people, including those it would acquire with its $85 billion takeover of Time Warner. Around 147,000 jobs have subsequently disappeared, showing the workforce has more than halved in just eight years.
Pie Chart Credit: Light Reading
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In a direct contradiction in August, Cisco announced layoffs of 221 employees in the San Francisco Bay Area, affecting roles in Milpitas and San Francisco. This occurred despite strong financial results and the CEO’s previous statement that the company would not cut jobs in favor of AI. The cuts, which included software engineering roles, are part of the company’s broader strategy to streamline operations & focus on AI.
About two-thirds of all job cuts — roughly 123,000 positions — came from U.S.-based companies, with the remainder spread across mainly Ireland, India and Japan. The report compiles data from WARN notices, TrueUp, TechCrunch and Layoffs.fyi through Oct. 21st.
- Shift to AI and automation: Many companies are restructuring their workforce to focus on AI-centric growth and are automating tasks previously done by human workers, particularly in customer service and quality assurance.
- Economic headwinds: Ongoing economic uncertainty, inflation, and higher interest rates are prompting tech companies to cut costs and streamline operations.
- Market corrections: Following a period of rapid over-hiring, many tech companies are now “right-sizing” their staff to become leaner and more efficient.
References:
Report: Broadcom Announces Further Job Cuts as Global Tech Layoffs Approach 185,000 in 2025
Tech layoffs continue unabated: pink slip season in hard-hit SF Bay Area
HPE cost reduction campaign with more layoffs; 250 AI PoC trials or deployments
High Tech Layoffs Explained: The End of the Free Money Party
Massive layoffs and cost cutting will decimate Intel’s already tiny 5G network business
Big Tech post strong earnings and revenue growth, but cuts jobs along with Telecom Vendors
Telecom layoffs continue unabated as AT&T leads the pack – a growth engine with only 1% YoY growth?
Cisco restructuring plan will result in ~4100 layoffs; focus on security and cloud based products
Cloud Computing Giants Growth Slows; Recession Looms, Layoffs Begin
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Amazon plans to cut 30,000 employees- largest layoff in the company’s history!
Amazon CEO Andy Jassy said in June that the increased use of artificial intelligence tools would likely lead to further job cuts, particularly through automating repetitive and routine tasks.
“This latest move signals that Amazon is likely realizing enough AI-driven productivity gains within corporate teams to support a substantial reduction in force,” said Sky Canaves, an eMarketer analyst. “Amazon has also been under pressure in the short-term to offset the long-term investments in building out its AI infrastructure.”
https://www.reuters.com/business/world-at-work/amazon-targets-many-30000-corporate-job-cuts-sources-say-2025-10-27/
The 20 largest network operators tracked by Light Reading cut headcount by more than 400,000 jobs, or 23% of the total, between 2016 and 2024.
Generative AI has been especially disruptive in the BSS/OSS space. It may be allowing companies to build software products with smaller teams and fewer resources, putting further downward pressure on prices. Taking advantage of the latest AI tools, a new entrant called Totogi last year claimed its BSS Magic product could build a complete BSS system, comprising half a million lines of code, in one day with a single engineer.
https://www.lightreading.com/5g/telecom-is-suffering-a-big-exodus-of-vendors
Feb 3, 2026 Update
1. From Light Reading:
AT&T and Verizon cut 17,700 jobs in 2025, with AI in its infancy:
Verizon’s new CEO Dan Schulman entered his new office in October and immediately erected a makeshift guillotine, promising the US telco’s glum investors that 13,000 heads would soon roll. When results were published last week, as reported by Light Reading, they showed that 10,300 jobs had been cut from the total in the final three months of the year, leaving Verizon with 89,900 employees on New Year’s Eve.
AT&T eliminated about 8,000 jobs in 2025, finishing the year with 133,000 employees.
That total net loss of 17,700 jobs at AT&T and Verizon was equal to about 7% of the combined workforce at the end of 2024. Last year’s job losses were not an isolated event but the continuation of a decade-old trend that has gutted the telco workforce. At its high point for staff numbers in 2017, AT&T employed as many as 280,000 people, including those it would acquire with its $85 billion takeover of Time Warner. Around 147,000 jobs have subsequently disappeared, showing the workforce has more than halved in just eight years.
https://www.lightreading.com/ai-machine-learning/at-t-and-verizon-cut-17-700-jobs-in-2025-with-ai-in-its-infancy
2. Amazon is slashing about 16,000 corporate jobs in the second round of mass layoffs for the ecommerce cloud computing company in three months.
The tech giant has said it plans to use generative artificial intelligence to replace corporate workers. It has also been reducing a workforce that swelled during the pandemic. The latest reductions follow a round of job cuts in October, when Amazon said it was laying off 14,000 workers.
CEO Andy Jassy, who has aggressively cut costs since succeeding founder Jeff Bezos in 2021, said in June that he anticipated generative AI would reduce Amazon’s corporate workforce in the next few years. The layoffs announced Jan 28, 2026 are Amazon’s biggest since 2023, when the company cut 27,000 jobs.
https://apnews.com/article/amazon-layoffs-job-cuts-tech-74387fae2313ff7b0b1e638c00863443