New Delhi, August 8: The global technology industry continues to experience significant layoffs this year. A recent report reveals that since the beginning of 2026, tech companies worldwide have laid off over 163,000 employees. A substantial number of these job losses are attributed to the rise of artificial intelligence (AI).
According to trading platforms, a total of 163,427 employees have been laid off in 2026, with 91,215 jobs directly or indirectly impacted by AI. This indicates that companies are rapidly restructuring their workforce as they adopt automation and AI technologies.
The report highlights that the most affected sectors include cloud and SaaS companies, which saw 37,492 layoffs. Following this, the e-commerce and marketplace sector experienced 22,633 job cuts, IT services faced 16,756 layoffs, and social media companies accounted for 13,592 job losses. The enterprise software sector also contributed approximately 8.14% to the total layoffs.
The impact of layoffs in the enterprise software sector was most pronounced in the United States. About 88.6% of the layoffs in this sector were linked to American companies. Out of the 13,308 layoffs recorded globally, 11,792 occurred in U.S. firms.
Cisco led the U.S. companies with the highest number of layoffs, cutting 4,000 jobs. This was followed by M-DOTX with 2,900 layoffs and Autodesk with 1,000 job cuts.
The technology sector in Asia and the Middle East also felt the repercussions of these layoffs. The report states that Israel was among the most affected countries, followed by India and Singapore. The layoffs have spread across various sectors, including AI startups, e-commerce companies, and cybersecurity firms.
Israeli workplace software company Monday.com announced on July 22, 2026, that it would reduce its global workforce by approximately 20%, resulting in around 620 job cuts. The company stated that this move was part of an organizational restructuring aligned with its AI work platform.
According to the report, Oracle has been the most aggressive in layoffs in 2026, having cut 25,254 employees in various phases since January. Although the process began at the end of 2025, significant layoffs occurred in March 2026 across the U.S., India, Canada, and Mexico.
Canadian information management software company OpenText also announced in July 2026 that it would lay off about 400 employees, roughly 2% of its global workforce, citing organizational restructuring.
Cisco indicated that the restructuring costs associated with layoffs, amounting to nearly $1 billion, would be invested in advancing its AI strategy. Similarly, Monday.com linked its workforce reduction to its AI-focused transformation.
The report also noted that investors have responded positively to these decisions. Cisco’s shares surged by 17% in after-hours trading, Monday.com’s shares rose by 2.3%, and ServiceNow’s shares saw an increase of nearly 9% the following week.
Analyst Stanislava Savicheva from trading platforms stated that AI-based restructuring is currently viewed positively in the markets. She remarked, “For investors, large-scale layoffs are becoming a sign of disciplined management, provided the company presents it in connection with its AI strategy and future efficiencies.”
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