The global technology sector has seen a record-high level of layoffs in 2026 and more than 116,739 employees have been laid off in the first 5 months of the year. This unprecedented workforce loss volume is a stark reflection of how big companies are restructuring at a massive scale as the technology industry is undergoing a major shake-up with automation, AI integration and ever-changing market dynamics.
Among the largest cuts, Meta had 8,000 employees laid off, PayPal 4,760 and Cisco 4,000. Intuit had 3,000, Cloudflare 1,100 and Wix 1,000 in cuts. LinkedIn also got rid of 875 employees.
The layoffs hit different parts of the tech industry. Bill.com was down 709, Freshworks 500 and GitLab 350. Other companies (Ticketmaster 350, Innovacer 340, Arctic Wolf 250) cut employees as well. Indian edtech company Adda247 laid off 200 employees and cybersecurity company SentinelOne shed 230. Staffbase (176), Upwork (151) and crypto exchange Kraken (150) were the smaller but notable layoffs.
Some firms opted for percentage‑based cuts rather than revealing the numbers. Uber cut 23% of its People’s division, but this was less than 1% of its employees. ClickUp lost 22% of its workforce, BigID lost 20% and Manhattan Associated dropped 6%. Meanwhile, Rapyd and Webflow did not disclose figures but there are reports of layoffs.
Even smaller firms were affected, with PocketFM (100), Lighttricks (75), NetApp (77), Interview Kickstart (50) cutting and others. Indeed, these numbers are, though small when compared to larger companies, indicative of the widespread impact of the downturn on startups as well as established players.
The effect on the tech industry in 2026 is cumulative; the layoffs are cumulative. Companies point to efficiency, restructuring and future readiness as reasons but the human effect is still great. And for the employees, this wave of job losses is a reminder that in an era when technology is changing the workforce itself, upskilling and resilience are key to keeping people in a position to survive.
