Block CEO Jack Dorsey
Block CEO Jack Dorsey said AI's growing capability, not financial difficulty, drove the company's 4,000-job cut in early 2026. Unsplash

The global tech sector has eliminated nearly 60,000 jobs in less than three months of 2026, and the companies doing the cutting are posting record revenues while pointing to artificial intelligence as the reason.

Layoff tracker TrueUp shows 171 separate events have hit 59,121 workers since January, an average of 704 jobs lost per day. That pace is running ahead of 2025, when 245,953 workers were let go across the full year. If it holds, total cuts could reach 265,000 by December.

Amazon, Block, and Atlassian Lead the Charge

Amazon tops the list with roughly 16,000 cuts this year. The company reported revenue of $716.9 billion (£536 billion) in 2025, a record, yet framed the layoffs as a push to flatten management layers and speed up decision-making.

Block, the fintech firm behind Square and Cash App, slashed 4,000 roles in early 2026, nearly 40% of its entire workforce. Chief Executive Jack Dorsey was unusually direct. 'This is not driven by financial difficulty, but by the growing capability of AI tools to perform a wider range of tasks,' he wrote in a company-wide memo.

Atlassian followed weeks later, cutting 1,600 jobs or 10% of its global workforce. Co-founder Mike Cannon-Brookes said the restructuring would 'self-fund further investment in AI and enterprise sales.' The company's cloud revenue grew 26% year on year in its most recent quarter.

One in Five Jobs Cut Over AI

UK-based research firm RationalFX found that more than 9,200 of the layoffs in 2026 are directly attributed to AI adoption and automation. That's roughly one in five of all tech jobs lost this year. Companies aren't just trimming headcount. They are replacing entire workflows with AI-assisted systems and redirecting the savings into infrastructure.

Meta has already cut about 1,500 jobs from its Reality Labs division and is reportedly planning further reductions that could affect up to 15,000 workers, roughly 20% of its workforce. The company is spending up to $135 billion (£101 billion) on AI capital expenditure in 2026, nearly double its 2025 outlay.

A Resume.org survey of 1,000 US hiring managers found 55% expect layoffs at their companies this year, and 44% identified AI as a primary driver.

The Cuts Are Spreading Beyond Silicon Valley

The wave is no longer confined to tech. CBS News cut 6% of its workforce on 20 March, shuttering its nearly century-old radio division. Ingka Group, the largest IKEA retailer, announced 800 office role cuts on 19 March as it restructures across 32 markets.

PayPal and Klarna are both reassessing hiring strategies. Ericsson has cut 1,900 roles, ASML has reduced 1,700 positions, and eBay let go of 800 workers despite fourth-quarter revenue of $3 billion (£2.2 billion).

Who's Next on the List?

A pattern is becoming a template. A company invests in AI tools, audits which roles can be automated, then announces layoffs framed as a competitive necessity. Block did it. Atlassian copied it weeks later. Enterprise-focused venture capitalists told TechCrunch they expect 2026 to be the year AI takes a 'meaningful toll on labour.'

Alan Cohen, analyst at RationalFX, said trends from 2025 have 'continued full steam into 2026,' with entire departments restructured or eliminated in favour of leaner, AI-assisted workflows. Companies that once blamed pandemic overhiring are now pointing to AI, and the shift shows no sign of slowing.

For the 59,121 workers already affected, and the millions watching from inside companies still weighing cuts, the message from the C-suite is hard to miss. AI investment is being funded by cutting human payroll, and the list grows by the week.

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