AI giver anledning til store fyringsrunder i techindustrien
Ifølge data opsamlet af RationalFX har virksomheder i teknologisektoren siden årsskiftet fyret 149.140 personer. Omkring 71 procent af fyringerne er foretaget af virksomheder med base i USA (in english).
As artificial intelligence is quickly spreading like wildfire, expanding its reach into multiple sectors, its impact on the job market is becoming more tangible and various businesses are replacing hundreds of employees with automation tools, chatbots, and even coding AI.
RationalFX has just published a comprehensive and very interestiong report on the mass layoffs affecting tens of thousands of skilled workers in the technology sector around the world in 2025.
The team at RationalFX aggregated layoff announcements sourced from the U.S. WARN notices, the job portal TrueUp, TechCrunch and the Layoffs.fyi layoff tracker since the beginning of 2025 and identified the companies initiating the largest mass layoffs this year.
U.S.-based chip and hardware maker Intel tops the list of tech companies with the largest layoffs in 2025. The company is expected to trim its workforce by 20% by the end of the year, which would make the total number of layoffs there reach 33,900.
Software giant Microsoft and Indian IT services provider TCS have also announced mass layoffs at a time when most tech companies continue to hire - AI professionals more than anything else. Overall, close to 150 thousand employees in the tech sector have lost their jobs around the world so far this year.
Here are a few key takeaways from the report:
- Between January 1 and August 5, 2025, companies in the global technology sector announced 149,140 layoffs, and roughly 71% of those were by U.S.-based companies. The actual number of layoffs, however, might be much larger since there are dozens of companies where the job cuts have not been confirmed.
- The company announcing the largest number of layoffs this year is Intel. Figures show that 33,900 employees there either have already lost their jobs or will lose them by the end of the year as a result of issues related to huge manufacturing-focused investments over the past couple of years, restructuring, and automation. The chip giant is now focusing on high-growth areas such as AI and foundry services.
- Microsoft, the tech company with the second-largest number of layoffs this year (19,175) has also been focusing on developing and leveraging AI, not just with its generative AI chatbot Copilot but also integrating it within its operations and reportedly, urging employees to use AI tools in their everyday work.
- India’s Tata Consultancy (TCS), which announced 12,000 job cuts in July, cited ‘skill mismatch’ as a reason behind the mass layoffs. However, India’s IT services and wider technology sector are increasingly adopting AI, with some entry-level positions now being completely replaced by automation tools.
- IBM is one of the few companies that has been straightforward about its use of artificial intelligence tools. In March, the company announced around 9,000 layoffs, making clear that AI would be replacing its communications and marketing divisions. Moreover, multiple positions have reportedly been moved from the United States to India, where IBM already have a significant presence in several cities.
U.S.-based companies are responsible for the majority of tech sector layoffs in 2025, 105,953 positions lost or around 71% of the global total. Workforce reductions in Indian companies (15,594) account for another 10.5% of the total. There is also a significant number of Israeli tech companies with layoffs, 20 in total, which, however, have laid off much fewer employees, just 1,396 so far in 2025.
- In July, the tech industry saw a significant surge in workforce reductions, from Microsoft and Intel to Indeed and TCS, totalling tens of thousands of job losses globally. While the correction of the crazy hiring during the pandemic and cost-cutting remain a central factor for the job cuts, layoffs in mid-2025 reflect a broader transformation. Companies are now replacing layers of skilled labour with automation and AI, optimising their structure by removing middle management, and trying to stay competitive at a time of rising rates, trade tensions, and softer consumer demand, explains Alan Cohen, analyst at RationalFX, and he continues:
- It is impossible to determine the full scale of the AI-related layoffs, as most companies will never admit to laying off employees in favour of automation and AI tools. In many cases, skilled, experienced and loyal employees are at risk of losing their jobs unless they manage to gain additional training and expertise that match the new market realities. Before resorting to mass layoffs, which not only affect employees and the economy, but also cost millions to the company, businesses should look into upskilling the existing workforce.
More information on the tech sector layoffs, the underlying reasons for job reductions, and RationalFX's complete research methodology can be found in the full report:
