By Dr. Tim Sandle
Intel and Microsoft lead the way
Intel and Microsoft top the U.S. in layoffs this year, with 33,900 and 20,009 employees affected, respectively. In India, Mumbai-based IT services provider TCS led the largest wave of job cuts, letting go of 12,000 staff in 2025. In Europe, more than 11,000 employees were made redundant at Accenture as the company moved towards greater automation and trained its workforce in the use of AI agents.
According to Alan Cohen, analyst at RationalFX, in a note to Digital Journal: “Tech sector layoffs in 2025 displaced hundreds of thousands of workers worldwide as companies accelerated structural resets rather than short-term cost corrections. While macroeconomic pressures such as high interest rates, trade restrictions, and geopolitical uncertainty continued to weigh on business confidence, the dominant force behind last year’s job cuts was the rapid adoption of automation and artificial intelligence.”
In an other trend, Cohen assesses: “Unlike earlier layoff waves driven by over-hiring, many of 2025’s reductions were permanent, with entire roles eliminated as companies rebuilt around AI-first operating models. Despite heavy investment in automation, these restructurings have not always delivered immediate efficiency gains, highlighting a growing gap between expectations around AI-driven productivity and the realities of large-scale workforce transformation.”
As to the coming year, Cohen predicts: “Layoffs are not likely to end abruptly in 2026, with structural pressures, including automation, strategic pivoting, and economic caution, suggesting that workforce reductions will persist through at least the first quarter of the year. While certain sub-sectors will likely continue to contract, other areas (especially AI-related roles) could see robust hiring.”
SCIENCE EDITOR
DIGITAL JOURNAL
January 8, 2026
Throughout the entirety of 2025, a minimum of 244,851 employees in the tech sector have been laid off globally, with U.S. companies responsible for 69.69% of these cuts, or 170,630 positions. European tech companies have slashed at least 32,608 roles, roughly 13.5% of the total. Note that the actual figures may be much higher, considering most companies rarely comment on layoff reports.
The analysis shows that an estimated 69,840 job cuts were directly linked to the adoption of AI and automation technologies. One of the more prominent examples comes from Amazon, which explained that the reason behind its latest workforce reduction was AI in its memo to employees. Ireland-based IT company Accenture also laid off 11,000 employees in an AI push earlier in the year.
While layoffs in Europe have been significant, they pale in comparison to those at leading U,S. tech firms in 2025. Intel, for example, cut 33,900 jobs last year, with Amazon and Microsoft following, reducing their workforces by 19,555 and 19,215 employees, respectively. Combined, these three companies have slashed over 72,700 jobs, more than double the total tech layoffs across Europe.
January 8, 2026
Throughout the entirety of 2025, a minimum of 244,851 employees in the tech sector have been laid off globally, with U.S. companies responsible for 69.69% of these cuts, or 170,630 positions. European tech companies have slashed at least 32,608 roles, roughly 13.5% of the total. Note that the actual figures may be much higher, considering most companies rarely comment on layoff reports.
The analysis shows that an estimated 69,840 job cuts were directly linked to the adoption of AI and automation technologies. One of the more prominent examples comes from Amazon, which explained that the reason behind its latest workforce reduction was AI in its memo to employees. Ireland-based IT company Accenture also laid off 11,000 employees in an AI push earlier in the year.
While layoffs in Europe have been significant, they pale in comparison to those at leading U,S. tech firms in 2025. Intel, for example, cut 33,900 jobs last year, with Amazon and Microsoft following, reducing their workforces by 19,555 and 19,215 employees, respectively. Combined, these three companies have slashed over 72,700 jobs, more than double the total tech layoffs across Europe.
Countries With The Most Significant Mass Tech Sector Layoffs:
- United States: 170,630 layoffs
- India: 19,049 layoffs
- Japan: 11,608 layoffs
- Ireland: 11,500 layoffs
- Spain: 7,450 layoffs
- Switzerland: 5,156 layoffs
- Sweden: 3,718 layoffs
- Israel: 3,446 layoffs
- Canada: 3,039 layoffs
- United Kingdom: 1,866 layoffs
Intel and Microsoft lead the way
Intel and Microsoft top the U.S. in layoffs this year, with 33,900 and 20,009 employees affected, respectively. In India, Mumbai-based IT services provider TCS led the largest wave of job cuts, letting go of 12,000 staff in 2025. In Europe, more than 11,000 employees were made redundant at Accenture as the company moved towards greater automation and trained its workforce in the use of AI agents.
According to Alan Cohen, analyst at RationalFX, in a note to Digital Journal: “Tech sector layoffs in 2025 displaced hundreds of thousands of workers worldwide as companies accelerated structural resets rather than short-term cost corrections. While macroeconomic pressures such as high interest rates, trade restrictions, and geopolitical uncertainty continued to weigh on business confidence, the dominant force behind last year’s job cuts was the rapid adoption of automation and artificial intelligence.”
In an other trend, Cohen assesses: “Unlike earlier layoff waves driven by over-hiring, many of 2025’s reductions were permanent, with entire roles eliminated as companies rebuilt around AI-first operating models. Despite heavy investment in automation, these restructurings have not always delivered immediate efficiency gains, highlighting a growing gap between expectations around AI-driven productivity and the realities of large-scale workforce transformation.”
As to the coming year, Cohen predicts: “Layoffs are not likely to end abruptly in 2026, with structural pressures, including automation, strategic pivoting, and economic caution, suggesting that workforce reductions will persist through at least the first quarter of the year. While certain sub-sectors will likely continue to contract, other areas (especially AI-related roles) could see robust hiring.”
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