We are just five months into 2026, yet the global tech industry has already witnessed massive workforce reductions, with more than 1 lakh employees reportedly laid off across major companies including Meta, Cloudflare, LinkedIn, and others. A significant share of these layoffs is being linked to the rapid rise of artificial intelligence, as companies restructure operations, realign investments, and cut costs to stay competitive in an evolving market.
In May 2026 alone, over 28,000 tech employees were laid off, according to layoff tracking platform Layoffs.fyi. One of the biggest reductions came from Meta, which reportedly cut around 10% of its global workforce, impacting nearly 8,000 employees. At the same time, the company also reassigned over 7,000 employees to AI-focused initiatives as it intensifies its push toward automation and next-generation digital products.
Following Meta, PayPal announced layoffs of approximately 4,760 employees, while Cisco reduced over 4,000 jobs as part of its strategy to shift investments toward AI-driven growth areas. Cisco CEO Chuck Robbins, in a memo, stated that companies that succeed in the AI era will be those that remain focused, act with urgency, and continuously redirect investment toward high-demand, high-value opportunities.
PayPal is also expected to potentially reduce its workforce further by nearly 20% over the next two to three years as it expands its AI capabilities. Meanwhile, Intuit, the US-based financial software company, laid off around 3,000 employees globally—about 17% of its workforce—citing the need to improve execution and streamline product delivery.
Professional networking platform LinkedIn also joined the wave of cuts, laying off around 875 employees as part of efforts to streamline operations and deepen its focus on AI-driven products. Cloudflare also announced job cuts of more than 1,100 employees globally, attributing the decision to increasing adoption of AI within the company. In addition, Wix reportedly reduced around 20% of its workforce, impacting over 1,000 employees.
Several other companies, including Ticketmaster, ZoomInfo, Adda247, Bill.com, Arctic Wolf, Upwork, and Truecaller, also implemented layoffs during the month of May. As June begins, concerns are already growing about the possibility of another wave of job cuts across the tech sector, as AI-driven transformation continues to reshape the industry landscape.
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