AI Wave, Economy Fuel Major Tech Layoffs Worldwide in 2025

In 2025, many technology companies have carried out layoffs, restructurings, and workforce reductions. As artificial intelligence and economic headwinds continue to reshape the industry, job cuts have become an unfortunate reality in the post-pandemic tech era.

With that in mind, we’ve taken a closer look at some of the most notable layoffs over the past year to identify emerging trends and shifts in an increasingly competitive market.

Cost-cutting and streamlining operations

Several large tech companies have implemented job cuts this year, largely driven by economic challenges and the need to optimize costs and improve efficiency.

Intel

In July, global chip manufacturer Intel announced plans to lay off 15 percent of its global workforce—a move signaling a shift toward stricter financial discipline and more focused execution. 

In a company memo, CEO Lip-Bu Tan described the restructuring as a series of “hard but necessary decisions,” expressing gratitude to affected employees and emphasizing that the changes aim to accelerate decision-making and reduce internal bottlenecks.

The layoffs are consistent with Intel’s broader cost-cutting strategy unveiled earlier this year, which includes reducing operating expenses by $500 million in 2025 and an additional $1 billion in 2026.

Microsoft

Similarly, Microsoft has made significant job cuts over the past year, totaling 15,000 roles—9,000 employees were laid off in July, and approximately 6,000 roles were cut in May. 

In July, a total of 9,000 roles were impacted across various Microsoft business units, including its sales and Xbox gaming divisions.

In a letter to staff, CEO Satya Nadella said that while Microsoft is “thriving,” the job cuts illustrate “the enigma of success in an industry that has no franchise value.” According to TechRepublic, Nadella may have been referring to the AI industry, where success and ROI on AI investments remain uncertain in the broader context.

In May, Microsoft cut about 6,000 roles across its teams, with software engineering and product management positions among the most affected. Managerial roles were a primary focus of the layoffs, impacting teams across Microsoft’s core business divisions, as well as its LinkedIn and Xbox units.

According to The Associated Press, an anonymous company spokesperson described the cuts as “organizational changes necessary to best position the company for success in a dynamic marketplace.”

Lenovo

In July, consumer technology provider Lenovo also announced layoffs, cutting roughly 3 percent of its US headcount, or around 150 jobs. The move followed a recent quarter in which tariffs impacted between $50 million and $60 million of the Beijing-based company’s earnings. For context, Lenovo has approximately 5,000 staff in the US and 72,000 globally.

While the number of affected roles may appear small, Lenovo said the cuts are part of a broader review of its cost structure.

“Like all businesses, we regularly review our cost structure to align with external market dynamics and make workforce adjustments where necessary,” the company said in a statement.

“We are currently making strategic reductions in some parts of our North America business and will continue to invest and focus on initiatives that accelerate the growth and the overall transformation of the company.”

F5

F5, an organization that delivers and secures applications and APIs, recently laid off 106 employees in its Seattle and Washington-area offices.

According to GeekWire, senior engineers and managers were among the roles most affected by the layoffs. A company spokesperson told the outlet that the cuts impacted F5’s global workforce.

“Today we announced changes in our product organization to better align resources with important customer needs and our highest business priorities,” the company said. 

“As part of these changes, selected roles were eliminated, while other employees were placed into new roles supporting strategic growth areas.”

Restructuring for the AI Era

Arguably, the most significant driving force behind many tech layoffs this year has been artificial intelligence. Whether directly or indirectly, AI has been a central reason several tech companies have decided to make changes within their workforce.

Google

In October, it was reported that Google had recently laid off more than 100 design-related roles. According to CNBC, the affected roles were part of the cloud unit’s “quantitative user experience research” and “platform and service experience” teams.

These cuts came as Google continues to ramp up investments in AI infrastructure. For example, the company recently announced plans to invest $16 billion in an AI hub and a 1-gigawatt data center in India.

Leaders at Google have also urged employees to become “more AI-savvy” as a way to boost productivity and stay competitive with other major players in the industry.

Accenture

Meanwhile, layoffs from Accenture followed a similar pattern towards employees’ AI readiness. The consulting giant recently cut more than 11,000 roles over a three-month span, with additional reductions expected for employees who cannot be “retrained” to develop AI expertise.

The layoffs reduced Accenture’s headcount to 779,000, down from 791,000 in May. CEO Julie Sweet stated that AI training will be a key focus, describing the cuts as part of Accenture’s “reshaping its workforce” for the AI era.

“We are exiting on a compressed timeline, people, where reskilling, based on our experience, is not a viable path for the skills we need,” said Sweet.

Sweet added that Accenture’s primary strategy will center on upskilling, emphasizing that “advanced AI is becoming part of everything we do.”

Salesforce

In early September, Salesforce also announced that it was eliminating 4,000 customer support roles, according to a report from NBC Bay Area.

“Because of the benefits and efficiencies of Agentforce, we’ve seen the number of support cases we handle decline, and we no longer need to actively backfill support engineer roles,” Salesforce told NBC Bay Area. 

Agentforce is the company’s agentic AI platform that allows customers to build and customize their own AI agents.

The layoffs align with Salesforce’s broader strategy of using AI to automate workloads and drive efficiency, as CEO Marc Benioff previously stated that AI is fueling a “digital labor revolution.”

Amazon Web Services (AWS)

Amazon eliminated an unspecified number of roles in its Amazon Web Services (AWS) cloud computing division back in mid-July. According to CNBC, AWS’s training and certification unit was among the groups affected, as noted in a memo from division head Michelle Vaz.

The move came just a month after Amazon CEO Andy Jassy said that the rollout of generative AI—and the resulting automation from the technology—would lead to a reduction in the company’s overall corporate workforce, according to a Reuters report.

“As we roll out more Generative AI and agents, it should change the way our work is done. We will need fewer people doing some of the jobs that are being done today, and more people doing other types of jobs,” Jassy said.

Cisco

In late August, IT giant Cisco announced it was laying off 221 employees across its Milpitas and San Francisco offices in California. According to SFGate, the layoffs came on the heels of Cisco reporting $56.7 billion in revenue for the 2025 fiscal year, a 5 percent increase from 2024.

Interestingly, these job cuts came just days after CEO Chuck Robbins told CNBC in an interview that the company would not use AI to reduce headcount.

“I don’t want to get rid of a bunch of people right now,” Robbins said when asked about how AI could help organizations cut costs.

“I just want our engineers that we have today to innovate faster and be more productive. That gives us a competitive advantage,” he added.

Bottom line: Layoffs signal the ‘AI shift’ in the tech industry

The wave of layoffs in 2025 highlights more than just cost-cutting across companies in the tech sector. For both big and small players in tech, AI has become central to how organizations plan for the future.

For some, AI enables greater productivity and more efficient operations. For others, it’s a signal to hire AI-first talent who can leverage the technology and foster innovation. Either way, AI is now a defining factor in how companies reshape their workforces. 

For employees in the tech space, it’s a clear reminder that adopting an AI-first mindset may be essential not just for staying in the industry but for thriving in the long run.