IT giants massively lay off employees to pay for the use of artificial intelligence
The race in the world of artificial intelligence demands sacrifices, and the creators of the technologies themselves are becoming them. In the first months of 2026, global IT giants have already laid off over 100,000 employees, aggressively optimizing costs for multi-billion dollar investments in neural networks.
Photo: LookByMedia
The Techspot portal writes about the alarming trend in the technology sector, which was highlighted by the Telegram channel «Bel-Geek.com». According to data from the analytical portal TrueUp, which tracks layoffs in the industry, the number of reductions since the beginning of the year has exceeded 100,000 people.
Statistics show that the process is becoming systemic: in every month, with the exception of April, more than 20,000 specialists lost their jobs.
From Meta to PayPal: Who Pays for the Revolution
The largest wave of layoffs in the last month was led by Meta, which has set a course to transform into an «AI-first company». The corporation plans to lay off about 8,000 employees to partially offset the growing costs of artificial intelligence, which will exceed $100 billion this year.
Simultaneously, about 7,000 more jobs may be reoriented to roles directly related to AI. The irony of the situation is that the company plans to train its systems by tracking the activity of its own employees in their workplaces, which many of them have already called «incredibly demoralizing».
Next comes Cisco, which recently announced the layoff of 4,000 people. Company head Chuck Robbins tried to present this figure as optimistically low, explaining that investments in artificial intelligence infrastructure will prevent them from being left behind in the global technological rearmament.
PayPal's plans look no less ambitious. According to The Wall Street Journal, the company aims to reduce its staff by about 20% over the next two to three years, which could amount to nearly 4,800 people.
However, Intuit's management, having cut 3,000 jobs, or 17% of its staff, tried to save face by stating that these layoffs were allegedly «not related to AI» but are part of overall optimization.
Not Just Artificial Intelligence
Although investments in artificial intelligence are the main driver of mass layoffs, industry insiders also note other factors. The consequences of excessive hiring in past years and a general restructuring of business models also play a role.
Problems in the video game industry have become a separate pain point for the market. For instance, Quantic Dream studio recently laid off about 95 employees after the failure of its project Spellcaster Chronicles. Bungie also plans significant reductions, confirming that the June update for the popular game Destiny 2 will be the last, and the development of the third installment has not even begun yet.
The history of technological progress has always been a history of optimization, but never before has the scale been so global, and the timelines so compressed. Artificial intelligence, which was supposed to free humanity from routine, began by freeing it from jobs.
According to analysts' forecasts, in 2026, the number of laid-off employees in the technology sector could reach 370,000 people, and this wave will only increase. The main question remains open: can a society so obsessively striving for technological singularity offer something to the millions of people who will find themselves outside this new economic reality?
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