Tech layoffs have continued at pace so far in 2025, with new analysis showing more than 26,000 roles have been eliminated globally since the beginning of the year.
Research from RationalFX, which studied press announcements, job portals, the Layoffs.fyi tracker, and regulatory filings suggests 26,215 jobs have been cut at 80 companies around the world, with 18,168 of these attributed to US-based tech companies.
That includes 3,600 roles at Meta, 3,000 at STMicro, and 2,280 at Microsoft, with the latter rolling out two sets of layoffs already this year, including one round targeting underperforming staff.
"Many of the companies that let go of employees in 2024 are now continuing to downsize in these fresh rounds of layoffs that will leave tens of thousands in the tech industry jobless over the coming months," said RationalFX data analyst Alan Cohen.
RationalFX admitted the research likely overrepresented American layoffs due to data collecting challenges in other major markets such as China.
The figures highlight the continued disruption for workers across the global tech industry and follow a tumultuous two years for the sector.
2023 was a disastrous year for layoffs in the tech space, with data from Layoffs.fyi showing 264,220 roles were cut across 1,193 companies. The scale of job losses that year saw it dubbed the ‘year of efficiency’, but the trend continued well into 2024.
Over 152,000 tech roles were cut last year across 548 companies, according to figures from Layoffs.fyi.
Tech layoffs continue amid growing AI focus
Those job cuts come as companies shore up their bottom lines to fund investment in AI, alongside the threat of AI actually taking on work.
Workday said earlier this month it would cut its workforce by 10% to prioritize investment in strategic areas, such as AI. Dropbox slashed its numbers by 16% back in 2023, suggesting it was to fund development of AI, while last year Intuit did the same, reducing headcount by 1,800 to make space for those with AI skills.
SAP said its $2bn program to restructure around generative AI would cost 8,000 jobs.
"The redundancies in the US, including in many Silicon Valley companies, are a result of over-hiring during the pandemic and high inflation," said Cohen.
"But there are other factors at play with recession fears and companies’ increased focus on AI being just two of them."
That said, the report noted that 2023 and 2024 were "extremely profitable for many businesses" with record earnings for shareholders and revenue increases.
There were plenty of reasons cited for cutbacks beyond AI and macroeconomic conditions, though.
Dell laid off 18,500 employees last year, citing slowing demand for PCs and enterprise equipment, Cohen noted, while Intel shed 15,100 roles due to sluggish industry hardware demand.
Electronics manufacturers were similarly impacted, with Samsung laying off 14,455 staff amid turmoil in global smartphone and appliance markets, while Toshiba slashed 9,000 jobs as it restructured its electronics and energy divisions.
"The workforce crisis in big tech extends beyond a temporary correction; it has become the norm,” Cohen said.
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