Tech Layoffs 2026: Who's Cutting, Who's Hiring

2025-2026 Layoff Summary

After the shock of 2023 (262,000 tech workers laid off across 1,100+ companies), layoffs moderated in 2024 but remained historically elevated. In 2025, the total crossed 280,000 — driven not by panic but by strategic restructuring as companies redirected spending toward AI infrastructure.

The 2025 surge was driven by a handful of large-scale cuts: Meta (20,000 in its "Year of Efficiency" continuation), Microsoft (18,000 across gaming and cloud divisions), and Amazon (14,000 from its devices and services teams). Hundreds of smaller companies contributed the rest.

Industry Breakdown

While "tech layoffs" grab headlines, workforce reductions have spread well beyond Silicon Valley:

• Technology: The epicenter. Software engineering, product management, and recruiting roles hit hardest. Many companies are replacing mid-level engineers with AI-assisted workflows — one senior engineer plus AI tools doing the work of three junior developers.
• Finance: Goldman Sachs, Citigroup, and Morgan Stanley each cut 3,000-5,000 roles in 2025, primarily in middle-office operations and trading desk support. AI-driven process automation is the stated reason in most cases.
• Media & Publishing: The Washington Post, Vice (again), BuzzFeed News (again), and dozens of local newsrooms reduced staff. AI-generated content and declining ad revenue are accelerating a decade-long contraction.
• Healthcare Tech: Surprisingly resilient. While some health startups folded (Olive AI, Babylon Health), established healthcare tech companies are expanding. Epic, Veeva, and Cerner continue hiring.

Who Is Actually Hiring?

Layoff data only tells half the story. Several sectors are aggressively expanding, often competing for the same talent that other companies are shedding:

Estimates based on LinkedIn job postings, company career pages, and industry reports as of Q1 2026.

How to Prepare

Whether you are currently employed or navigating a layoff, these steps are non-negotiable in the current market:

1. Build a 6-month emergency fund. Not 3 months. The average job search in tech has extended to 4.5 months in 2026, up from 2.8 months in 2022. If you are in a niche role or senior position, plan for 6-9 months.
2. Learn AI tools — deeply, not superficially. The engineers being retained are those who can build with LLMs, not just prompt them. Take a course on fine-tuning, RAG architectures, or AI agent development. These skills have direct salary premium.
3. Diversify your skill stack. The most resilient roles combine technical ability with domain expertise. A software engineer who understands healthcare compliance, financial regulation, or energy systems is harder to replace — and harder to automate — than a generalist.
4. Network before you need to. 70% of jobs are filled through referrals. If your LinkedIn network consists entirely of people at your current company, you are one layoff away from starting from scratch.
5. Keep your interview skills sharp. Do one mock interview per quarter even when employed. System design and behavioral interviews atrophy fast when you stop practicing.

Frequently Asked Questions