The tech industry's turbulent job market continued through 2025, with companies slashing tens of thousands of positions in response to AI adoption, shifting investor priorities, and macroeconomic uncertainty. After 2024 saw more than 150,000 layoffs across 549 firms, 2025 opened with another wave of cuts that showed no signs of slowing.
Within the first two months of 2025, more than 22,000 tech workers had already been laid off, with February alone accounting for over 16,000 reductions. The reasons were varied: some companies pivoted aggressively to artificial intelligence, others struggled with declining revenue, and a few simply shut down entirely. The following breakdown tracks every major disclosed layoff from January through December 2025, offering a clear view of how the industry evolved and where the greatest impact was felt.
December 2025: End-of-Year Reductions and Shutdowns
December brought a calmer but still significant wave of job cuts as several companies repositioned for the coming year. Zebra Technologies wound down its autonomous mobile robot business, a unit originally built through its 2021 acquisition of Fetch Robotics. The Illinois-based company considered selling the division or shutting it down, with most staff expected to leave by the end of the year. Amazon also cut 84 jobs across Seattle and Bellevue, targeting roles in engineering, recruiting, software development, and product management. Those layoffs were scheduled for early 2026, with affected workers receiving at least 90 days of pay, benefits, and job transition assistance.
Lusha, an Israeli sales intelligence startup, laid off about 24 employees, representing 8% of its workforce, as part of a restructuring aimed at reallocating resources toward new growth areas. Tenstorrent, an AI chip startup based in Santa Clara, cut 7.5% of its staff, reducing its headcount to roughly 1,000 as it shifted focus from enterprise customers to individual developers. Payoneer let go of about 30 employees in Israel and a similar number overseas, bringing its total reduction to 6% of its global workforce. VSCO laid off 24 employees to refocus on professional photographers, with CEO Eric Wittman acknowledging that consumer demand fell short of expectations.
Mobileye, the Israeli autonomous driving technology company, cut 200 employees, or 4% of its global workforce, with most reductions affecting its local teams. Inside Inbound Health, a hospital-at-home startup that had raised more than $50 million, shut down entirely on December 1, according to Axios Pro.
November 2025: Corporate Restructuring Intensifies
November saw a deeper round of cuts, particularly among legacy tech firms. Intel eliminated 59 Bay Area jobs in a continuation of its previously stated goal to significantly reduce headcount. HP announced plans to cut 4,000 to 6,000 jobs by 2028, aiming to streamline operations and use AI to speed up product development. Apple trimmed several sales positions handling accounts for business, schools, and government agencies, as part of a broader effort to streamline its go-to-market strategy. Bloomberg reported the move.
Monarch Tractor, an autonomous electric tractor startup, warned employees of potential layoffs exceeding 100 workers or even a full shutdown, following weeks of staff cuts in its California offices and teams in India and Singapore. Playtika, the Nasdaq-listed gaming company, announced plans to lay off 20% of its workforce, between 700 and 800 employees, marking its fifth round of cuts since 2022. Pipe, a revenue-based small business lender once valued at $2 billion, laid off about 200 employees, roughly half its workforce, as it pushed toward profitability.
Synopsys, the chip design software giant, said it would cut about 10% of its workforce, approximately 2,000 employees, and close several sites as part of a restructuring tied to its acquisition of Ansys. Deepwatch, a cybersecurity firm, laid off between 60 and 80 employees, citing AI as a factor. Axonius, another cybersecurity company, cut about 10% of its staff, or 100 workers. MyBambu, a Florida-based fintech, closed its operations entirely, laying off all 141 employees. Hewlett-Packard also removed 52 positions at its San Jose campus across cloud development, engineering, and product management.
October 2025: The Largest Single-Month Wave
October became the most brutal month of the year, with 18,510 recorded layoffs. Amazon initiated a massive reduction, ultimately targeting 14,000 corporate roles after early reports suggested up to 30,000 cuts. The company laid off 660 employees across New York City offices, with more to come through the year. Rivian cut 600 jobs, or 4% of its workforce, marking its third layoff of 2025 as the EV market cooled. Meta laid off roughly 600 employees across its AI infrastructure units, including the Fundamental AI Research (FAIR) team, though top hires in the new TBD Labs were spared.
Applied Materials, a major semiconductor equipment maker, cut about 4% of its workforce, roughly 1,400 jobs, amid tighter U.S. export controls. Handshake, an early-career job platform, laid off around 100 employees, about 15% of its U.S. workforce. Smartsheet, which was acquired by Blackstone and Vista Equity Partners for $8.4 billion, laid off more than 120 employees during a leadership transition. Google cut over 100 design roles in its cloud division, with more layoffs across its Silicon Valley offices. Paycom laid off over 500 employees, citing AI and automation improving back-office efficiencies.
September 2025: AI-Fueled Efficiency Drives Cuts
September's total of 4,152 layoffs included several companies that explicitly cited AI as a reason for reducing their workforce. Just Eat, Europe's largest food delivery company, eliminated about 450 jobs as it shifted many manual service tasks to automated systems. Fiverr cut around 250 roles, approximately 30% of its staff, to become a leaner, AI-focused company. ZipRecruiter closed its Tel Aviv development center, eliminating about 80 jobs. GupShup, a conversational AI company, laid off at least 100 employees just months after cutting nearly 200.
xAI, Elon Musk's AI venture, laid off about a third of its data annotation team, roughly 500 employees, as it shifted from generalist AI tutors to specialist roles. Rivian, again, cut 200 workers, or 1.5% of its staff, as federal EV tax credits ended. Oracle trimmed 355 jobs across Seattle and San Francisco, following a larger wave in August. Salesforce eliminated another 262 jobs at its headquarters, continuing a trend of modest but steady reductions.
August 2025: Mid-Year Restructuring
August recorded 6,302 layoffs. Cisco cut 221 positions across Milpitas and San Francisco as part of its broader workforce-reduction strategy. Restaurant365 laid off around 100 employees after falling short of growth targets. Oracle cut 101 jobs in Santa Clara and 161 in Seattle. F5 trimmed 106 positions in Washington state. Peloton cut 6% of its workforce, its sixth layoff in just over a year. Kaltura, a corporate video software company, cut 10% of its staff, about 70 employees. Yotpo laid off about 200 employees, or 34% of its global workforce, as it shut down its email and SMS marketing operations. Windsurf, an AI coding startup recently acquired by Cognition, laid off 30 employees and offered buyouts to the remaining 200. Wondery, an Amazon-owned podcast company, cut 100 jobs as Amazon reorganized its audio operations.
July 2025: AI’s Growing Influence
July saw a broad mix of layoffs, totaling 16,327. Atlassian cut 150 roles in customer service and support, reducing its need for those positions after improving its platform and tools. Consensys, the blockchain software company, cut 47 employees as it pushed toward profitability. Zeen, a social collaging platform, shut down entirely. Scale AI laid off around 200 employees and severed ties with 500 global contractors, just weeks after Meta's CEO poached its own CEO in a $14.3 billion deal. Lenovo cut more than 100 U.S. jobs, and Intel reportedly planned to lay off nearly 2,400 workers in Oregon, far exceeding earlier disclosures.
Indeed and Glassdoor, both owned by Recruit Holdings, announced plans to eliminate approximately 1,300 combined jobs as part of a restructuring to focus on AI. Eigen Lab cut 29 employees. Microsoft announced a major reduction of 9,000 employees, less than 4% of its global workforce, following smaller cuts earlier in the year. ByteDance, TikTok's parent company, laid off 65 employees in Bellevue, Washington.
June 2025: Steady Stream of Cuts
June recorded 1,606 layoffs, a relatively quiet month. TomTom cut 300 jobs, or 10% of its workforce, in its sales and support divisions. Rivian reduced its headcount by approximately 140 employees, mostly in manufacturing. Bumble cut about 240 jobs, or 30% of its workforce, in a push toward operational efficiency. Klue, a Vancouver-based startup, laid off 85 employees, about 40% of its staff. Google downsized its smart TV division by 25% of its 300-member team, redirecting investment to AI projects. Intel said it planned to lay off 15% to 20% of workers in its Intel Foundry division beginning in July. Playtika let go of around 90 employees, and Airtime, the video startup founded by Evernote's Phil Libin, cut roughly 25 of its 58-person team. Microsoft continued with additional layoffs just weeks after a larger round in May.
May 2025: Hundreds to Thousands Affected
May saw 10,397 layoffs. Hims & Hers downsized by 68 employees, about 4% of its workforce. Amazon laid off around 100 employees from its devices and services division. Microsoft cut over 6,500 jobs, affecting 3% of its worldwide workforce, making it one of the company's biggest layoffs since 2023. Chegg let go of 248 employees, or 22% of its staff, as students turned to AI tools. Match reduced its workforce by 13%. CrowdStrike laid off 5% of its global workforce, roughly 500 people, in a strategic plan to reach $10 billion in annual recurring revenue. General Fusion cut roughly 25% of its workforce. Deep Instinct reduced its headcount by 20 employees. Beam, a British climate startup, shut down operations entirely, letting go of approximately 200 employees.
April 2025: Corporate Restructuring Peaks
April saw more than 24,500 layoffs, the highest monthly total of 2025. NetApp eliminated 700 jobs, affecting 6% of its workforce. Electronic Arts let go of approximately 300 to 400 employees, including 100 at Respawn Entertainment. Expedia cut around 3% of its employees, focusing on midlevel product and technology roles. Cars24 reduced its workforce by about 200 employees in its product and technology divisions. Meta let go of over 100 employees in its Reality Labs division. Intel announced plans to lay off more than 21,000 employees, roughly 20% of its workforce, ahead of its Q1 earnings call led by newly appointed CEO Lip-Bu Tan. GM laid off 200 people at its Factory Zero facility. Zopper, an Indian insurtech, cut around 100 employees since the start of 2025. Turo reduced its workforce by 150 positions after canceling its IPO.
GupShup laid off roughly 200 employees, its second round in five months. Forto, a German logistics startup, eliminated 200 jobs, about one-third of its staff. Wicresoft, Microsoft's first joint venture in China, stopped its operations in China, affecting around 2,000 employees. Five9 cut 123 jobs. Google laid off hundreds of employees in its platforms and devices division, covering Android, Pixel, and Chrome. Microsoft was reported to be contemplating additional layoffs by May, focusing on middle managers and non-coders. Automattic, the developer of WordPress.com, laid off 16% of its workforce across departments. Canva let go of 10 to 12 technical writers after encouraging employees to use generative AI tools.
March 2025: Smaller Rounds, Broader Impact
March recorded 8,834 layoffs. Northvolt, the struggling Swedish battery maker, laid off 2,800 employees, affecting 62% of its staff, weeks after filing for bankruptcy. Block let go of 931 employees, around 8% of its workforce, in a reorganization that CEO Jack Dorsey said was not for financial reasons or to replace workers with AI. Brightcove laid off 198 employees, about two-thirds of its U.S. workforce, just a month after being acquired by Bending Spoons. Acxiom laid off 130 employees, or 3.5% of its workforce. Sequoia Capital closed its Washington, D.C. office, affecting three full-time employees. Siemens announced plans to cut approximately 5,600 jobs globally in its automation and EV charging businesses. HelloFresh laid off 273 employees and closed a distribution center. Otorio cut 45 employees after being acquired by Armis. ActiveFence let go of 22 employees. D-ID cut 22 jobs, nearly a quarter of its workforce. NASA shut down several offices in accordance with Elon Musk's DOGE. Wayfair announced plans to let go of 340 employees in its technology division. HPE cut 2,500 employees, or 5% of its staff. TikTok cut up to 300 workers in Dublin. LiveRamp laid off 65 employees. Ola Electric cut over 1,000 employees and contractors. Rec Room reduced its headcount by 16%. ANS Commerce, a Flipkart-owned company, was shut down entirely.
February 2025: A Surge of Layoffs
February was the second-highest month with 16,234 layoffs. HP cut up to 2,000 jobs as part of its “Future Now” restructuring plan. GrubHub announced 500 job cuts after being sold to Wonder Group. Autodesk laid off 1,350 employees, affecting 9% of its workforce. Google cut employees in People Operations and cloud teams, offering voluntary exit packages. Nautilus reduced its headcount by 25 employees. eBay cut a few dozen employees in Israel. Starbucks cut 1,100 jobs, affecting tech workers, and outsourced some tech work. Commercetools laid off dozens of employees. Dayforce cut roughly 5% of its workforce. Expedia laid off more employees, though the total was unknown. Skybox Security ceased operations, laying off about 300 people. HerMD shut down its operations. Zendesk cut 51 jobs in San Francisco. Vendease, a Nigerian startup, cut 120 employees. Logically laid off dozens of employees. Blue Origin laid off about 10% of its workforce, more than 1,000 employees. Redfin cut around 450 positions. Sophos laid off 6% of its workforce. Zepz cut nearly 200 employees. Unity conducted another round of layoffs. JustWorks cut nearly 200 employees. Bird cut 120 jobs, about one-third of its workforce. Sprinklr laid off about 500 employees. Sonos let go of approximately 200 employees. Workday laid off 1,750 employees, or 8.5% of its headcount. Okta laid off 180 employees. Cruise laid off 50% of its workforce, including its CEO, as it prepared to shut down operations. Salesforce eliminated more than 1,000 jobs.
January 2025: A Turbulent Start to the Year
January saw 2,403 layoffs, setting the tone for the year. Cushion, a fintech startup, shut down entirely. Placer.ai laid off 150 employees, about 18% of its workforce. Amazon laid off dozens of workers in its communications department. Stripe laid off 300 people, though the company planned to grow its headcount by 17%. Textio laid off 15 employees. Pocket FM cut 75 employees. Aurora Solar cut 58 employees. Meta announced plans to cut 5% of its staff, targeting low performers. Wayfair cut up to 730 jobs as it exited Germany. Pandion shut down, affecting 63 employees. Icon laid off 114 employees. Altruist eliminated 37 jobs. Aqua Security cut dozens of employees. SolarEdge Technologies planned to lay off 400 employees globally. Level, a fintech startup, abruptly shut down, though Employer.com made an offer to acquire the company post-shutdown.
Throughout 2025, the tech industry demonstrated a relentless focus on efficiency, AI integration, and profitability, often at the cost of thousands of jobs. The trend toward automation and the promise of generative AI led companies to reduce human oversight, streamline product teams, and reallocate resources toward machine learning and data infrastructure. While the full impact of these layoffs on innovation and company culture will take years to unfold, the numbers paint a stark picture of an industry in transition.
Source: TechCrunch News