From CNET: When Meta began laying off 8,000 people in May, it felt like an omen. Meta, the parent company of Facebook, Instagram and WhatsApp, had seen several high-profile failures, from the death of the metaverse to its multibillion-dollar court setbacks. The Magnificent Seven — the tech giants that drive US stock market gains — seemed to hit a plateau over the last year, as more investors expressed concern about a potential AI bubble.
A wave of recent tech layoffs and buyouts reveals a growing volatility in the tech industry, as major companies restructure to cut costs and redirect spending toward AI. In just the last few weeks, Google extended its voluntary buyout program to select employees in five countries, and the graphic design platform Canva reduced its staff by 22%, laying off or relocating 1,271 employees.
Companies that have laid off or offered buyouts to 1,000 or more employees this year include Microsoft (60,000), Oracle (21,000), Amazon (17,000 in addition to 14,000 in 2025), Uber (3,300) and Netflix (1,000). According to the TrueUp tech layoffs tracker, layoffs are accelerating faster than last year, with over 200,000 workers reduced so far in 2026. The cuts aren’t limited to struggling companies, but are affecting profitable organizations with strong revenues.
The dominant factor behind layoffs has been AI. Companies have spent billions of dollars on the technology, plus a terrifying $3.2 trillion (with a “T”) that, Goldman Sachs says, doesn’t show up on balance sheets. With current returns failing to justify the massive scale of capital expenditure, companies are slashing labor costs and relying on AI to offset the resulting productivity losses.
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