As we enter August, the tech sector has hit a milestone – but it’s not a good one.
Total tech layoffs for 2026 have now officially surpassed those of 2025, and with four months to spare, according to layoffs.fyi. These layoffs span more than 250 companies, and if they continue at this pace, we could hit 1M total tech layoffs since 2022 as early as next year.
An Ongoing Layoffs Story
Two months ago, global tech layoffs surpassed 100,000. This was a major event, as in 2025, layoffs only surpassed 100,000 in late October – we were running four months ‘ahead of schedule’. Now, layoffs this year have superseded those in 2025 – again, four months ahead.
This year will likely not be the worst for tech layoffs since 2022, but it could beat 2024, which had just under 153,000 layoffs, and maybe even 2022, which had 165,269 layoffs. By now, it is clear that companies are rethinking their strategies, and this is apparent in both their hiring and firing strategies. Although it may vary per tech vertical, layoffs have seen a trend of acceleration, spurred on by multiple factors such as changing budgets, socioeconomic turmoil, and artificial intelligence.
It has impacted some of the biggest names in tech, including Salesforce, which laid off nearly 1,000 employees at the start of the year, Oracle, which laid off a historical 30,000 employees this year, and ServiceNow, which recently conducted another layoff round after its first earlier this year.
What Does This Tell Us About the State of Tech?
If anyone needs any further convincing that the tech sector is in a state of rapid evolution, then let it be this.
This milestone solidifies what we have been observing since the start of the year: that the tech landscape is now being permanently molded by the advancements of AI, its potential, and what both customers and investors believe SaaS companies should look like in the future.
We have largely progressed beyond the ‘hype’ phase with AI, and now tech giants and Wall Street are placing their bets on companies that have shifted their focus to become ‘AI-first’. Much of it is marketing, and much of it is also just trial and error. However, this year has taught us that if you want to get ahead in this sector, you can’t play it safe – if you aren’t investing in AI 100%, then you will fall behind.
At the beginning of the year, there was still skepticism over how much of an influence AI was really having on company structures. It was undeniably a thought in every CIO’s mind – that much was clear – but was it really responsible for slashing entire teams?
Fast forward several months, and it appears that it has much more of an impact now. We are actively seeing businesses make decisions around current or prospective AI efficiencies, with AI being the most-cited reason for layoffs across every industry right now. It may not be leading to significant ROI, but it is clear that the betting is happening.
As aforementioned, AI isn’t the only driver behind these layoffs. Tech stacks are changing, budgets are dictating team sizes, and the pressure to succeed is more intense than ever. This historically has led to mass layoffs, and this kind of instability is driving the cuts we’re witnessing right now.
“We’re Definitely Witnessing a Shift in Jobs Due to AI”
Vernon Keenan, a senior industry analyst and founder of Keenan Vision, told SF Ben that he believes we’re witnessing a shift in the market rather than one trend succeeding all others. This, of course, is largely due to AI.
“We’re definitely witnessing a shift in jobs due to AI,” he said. “If you [or your company] is into AI, you’ve been getting some productivity out of it, and you have an AI strategy, you’re probably trying to hire competitively for engineers and software developers who can help with that.”
Layoffs are undoubtedly on the steady incline, but they only tell one side of the market’s story. Businesses are now reshaping how their company structures operate, choosing to hire in the areas they need most and cull the areas they don’t need as much.
“If you look at what CEOs are saying and what they want to do, I think that they would love to have growth without a lot of employees,” Vernon said.
By now, theories on the kinds of roles AI will take away, reshape, and create have been in circulation for a few years. However, Vernon stresses that professionals can’t just be considering which jobs are safe, but which companies, too. If they’re not succeeding in the AI era currently, then the future with them may not be bright either.
“You need to look at your company and decide if they’re a laggard or a leader,” he said.
Final Thoughts
As the tumultuous tech market continues to evolve, we’re faced with a reality many of us have been theorizing about for a long time: companies are going through a significant reshaping effort that is seeing the ‘low-value’ roles get cut, and the ‘high-value’ roles orient around AI.
Will we hit 1M tech layoffs since 2022 soon? Only time will tell.
