What is the story about?
The tech industry's AI-driven job cull is picking up pace with no signs of slowing. Layoff tracker Layoffs.fyi places the total number of tech job losses
at 93,294 so far in 2026, and the latest cuts at Freshworks and Coinbase have added fresh urgency to a debate that the industry can no longer sidestep: artificial intelligence is not just changing how companies work, it is actively replacing the people who used to do that work.
Coinbase: Tearing Up the Org Chart
Coinbase confirmed it is cutting around 700 jobs about 14 per cent of its global headcount citing both a crypto market downturn and a fundamental shift toward becoming an AI-native organisation. CEO Brian Armstrong framed the decision not as a headcount reduction but as a structural overhaul. Gone are what he called "pure managers." In their place, he wants "player-coaches" — leaders who also contribute directly as individuals.The company is building small "AI-native pods," teams so lean they could include a single person directing AI agents that collectively perform the work of engineers, designers, and product managers. Armstrong wrote on X: "We are not just reducing headcount and cutting costs, we're fundamentally changing how we operate: rebuilding Coinbase as an intelligence, with humans around the edge aligning it."
Over the past year, Armstrong noted that AI has allowed engineers to ship in days what previously took entire teams several weeks and that non-technical employees are now writing code themselves.
PayPal restructuring under new ceo
PayPal is planning to eliminate approximately 20 per cent of its global workforce over the next two to three years, cutting more than 4,500 jobs as new CEO Enrique Lores pursues a USD 1.5 billion turnaround strategy. Lores, who took the helm in March after his predecessor failed to move quickly enough according to the board, outlined a two-pronged approach: stripping out redundant layers and accelerating AI integration across the business. He announced a dedicated AI transformation team reporting directly to him, tasked with redesigning core processes function by function. PayPal shares fell nearly 10 per cent on the news despite Q1 revenue of USD 8.4 billion.
Oracle again laying off around 30 thousand employees
Oracle has carried out one of the largest tech layoffs of 2026, with TD Cowen estimating cuts of between 20,000 and 30,000 employees across multiple divisions globally. The cuts, however, are not tied to poor performance. Oracle's quarterly revenue reached USD 17.2 billion, up 22 per cent, with remaining performance obligations hitting USD 553 billion up 325 per cent year-on-year, almost entirely driven by large AI contracts. The company is slashing its human capital bill to fund a USD 50 billion capital expenditure programme for AI data centres. Analysts estimate the layoffs will free up USD 8 to 10 billion in annual cash flow to sustain that buildout.Cognizant also joins layoffs league
Cognizant is evaluating a significant workforce reduction under an internal restructuring program called "Project Leap," with reports suggesting between 12,000 and 15,000 jobs could be cut globally. The company has acknowledged the scale, disclosing expected severance payouts of USD 230 million to USD 320 million. India stands to absorb the sharpest impact over 250,000 of Cognizant's 357,000 employees are based there. CEO Ravi Kumar S has signalled a shift toward a "broader and shorter pyramid," combining digital tools with fewer but more skilled human workers a clear sign that the old high-volume, low-cost staffing model is being retired.
Industry in structural transition
Freshworks and Coinbase are the latest entries on a list that has been growing all year. The largest layoff events of 2026 so far include Oracle, which cut an estimated 20,000 to 30,000 employees in March; Amazon, which eliminated 16,000 corporate roles in January; Dell Technologies, which shed 11,000 staff; Meta, which announced 8,000 cuts effective May 20; Block, which cut 4,000 jobs or 40 per cent of its workforce; Atlassian, which trimmed 1,600 employees; and Snap, which let go of 1,000 staff.Snap explicitly cited AI advancements that "enable teams to reduce repetitive work, increase velocity, and better support partners and advertisers," and said the move would trim projected annual expenses by over USD 500 million by the second half of 2026.
Meta, for its part, said cuts were needed to "run the company more efficiently" and to "offset other investments" a reference to the company's plan to spend as much as USD 135 billion on AI infrastructure in 2026 alone, an increase of up to 87 per cent over 2025.
Across Google, Amazon, Microsoft and Meta together, AI capital expenditure for 2026 is projected at USD 725 billion up 77 per cent year-on-year. Meanwhile, 275,000 AI-specific jobs remain open that laid-off workers largely cannot fill due to the skills gap.
Who gets hit first
The jobs disappearing fastest are the ones that looked most secure just a few years ago. Junior and mid-level software developers handling bug fixes, QA engineers running test cycles, and IT support staff managing first-line customer queries are among the hardest-hit roles functions now handled more cheaply and quickly by AI.Glassdoor's Employee Confidence Index showed the tech sector recorded the largest year-on-year drop in confidence of any industry, falling 6.8 percentage points in March to 47.2 per cent. Glassdoor's chief economist noted that because fewer people are quitting voluntarily, companies are becoming more aggressive about pushing staff out.
Anthony Tuggle, an executive coach who previously worked in the industry, described the current situation as "a fundamental structural shift rather than a temporary market correction."
The 100,000 mark is now within reach. And by most indicators, the industry is nowhere near done counting.
