Tracking the shift · updated August 2026
The job market is
being rewritten.
Read the signal.
70% of the people cut in this year's tracked tech layoffs worked at companies citing AI, by our deliberately conservative count. WorkforceSignal curates every major layoff with sources, separates AI reality from AI narrative, and turns the data into tools for your next move.
People affected
485K
Since Jan 2022 · 4 events undisclosed, excluded
Events tracked
122
Curated & sourced, no noise
AI-attributed
166K
People at companies citing AI
AI share of people cut
70%
In 2026 · 34% since 2022
- Aug 2026Zillow−500
- Aug 2026TikTok−250
- Aug 2026Etsy−220
- Aug 2026Google−?
- Jul 2026monday.com−630
- Jul 2026Visa−2,600
- Jul 2026Microsoft−4,800
- Jul 2026Uber (customer service)−?
- Jun 2026Rackspace−750
- Jun 2026Robinhood−290
- Jun 2026Lucid Motors−?
- May 2026Intuit−3,000
- May 2026Meta−8,000
- May 2026Cisco−3,900
The pulse
The correction since 2022, charted
Market stress index
Below baseline
Mean monthly layoff volume over the last three complete months against the trailing-year monthly median, computed from the curated tracker.
Inputs: ~10,948/mo recent vs 16,300/mo baseline · 16 events in window (2 with undisclosed headcounts, excluded) · formula
Latest events
Zillow
Aug 2026
500
TikTok
Aug 2026
250
Etsy
Aug 2026
220
Google
Aug 2026
Undisclosed
monday.com
Jul 2026
630
Why this is happening
Three forces, one market
The over-hiring correction
Big tech grew headcount 40–60% in 2020–21, betting pandemic demand was permanent. It wasn't, and the unwind released half a million people into the market.
The efficiency era
Rate hikes ended free money, and investors now reward cuts: profitable companies trim yearly because Wall Street applauds when they do.
The AI substitution
First narrative, now real: support, content, QA, back-office and junior work is being absorbed, while AI-fluent roles command premiums at the same companies.
Start here
Where are you in this market?
“I think my job is at risk”
Score the 15 warning signs your company may already be showing, then get your personal exposure number and a plan that matches it.
“I just got laid off”
Skip the panic-apply spiral. See which skills the market is actually paying for right now and where your experience transfers best.
“I'm planning my next move”
Compare any two roles on AI exposure and hiring demand, and read where the market is heading before you commit years to a path.
The toolkit
Built to be used, not just read
Tech Layoff Tracker
Every major tech layoff since 2022, filterable, sourced, and charted, with conservative AI attribution.
Open →
Resilience Calculator
Score your career against AI exposure and market demand in two minutes. Transparent model, personalized moves.
Open →
Skills Intelligence
What's rising, what's falling, and a role-by-role roadmap for repositioning, from new grads to managers.
Open →
Layoff Warning Signs
The 15-point checklist of signals that preceded real layoffs, score your situation and get a preparation plan.
Open →
Compare Roles
Any two tech roles, side by side: AI exposure, hiring demand, and which path holds up better.
Open →
Predictions 2026–2030
Evidence-based forecasts with confidence levels and falsifiable signals. Forecasts you can hold us to.
Open →
Straight answers
The questions everyone's asking
How bad are tech layoffs in 2026?
It depends which measure you use, and we are careful to separate them. Industry-wide aggregates (Layoffs.fyi, retrieved August 6, 2026) counted more than 125,000 people across 260+ tech companies by early August, approaching 2025's full-year figure with months to go. Our own curated tracker is smaller by design, counting only major, individually sourced events, and it still shows 2026 running below 2025's total; the live numbers are on the tracker page. The largest single event of 2026 in our dataset is Oracle's 21,000-position restructuring (early reports said up to 30,000). The character has shifted too: most of the people affected this year worked at companies that explicitly cited AI, and the companies cutting are mostly profitable, which is why we describe this as restructuring rather than distress.
Read the full answer →
Why are tech companies still laying people off if they're profitable?
Because most current layoffs are not distress, they're restructuring. Three forces stack: (1) correction of 2020–21 over-hiring, when big tech grew headcount 40–60% in two years; (2) investor pressure for 'efficiency' after 2022's rate hikes ended the free-money era, Wall Street now rewards layoffs with stock bumps; and (3) AI reallocation, where companies cut in one place to fund AI hiring and datacenter spending in another. A profitable company cutting 5% while posting record earnings is doing portfolio math, not survival math.
Read the full answer →
Is it true there are hundreds of applicants per job posting?
For visible, remote-friendly postings, yes, routinely. LinkedIn's own data and recruiter surveys through mid-2026 show popular postings drawing 300–1,000+ applications within days, partly because AI tools let candidates mass-apply (some send thousands of applications), which floods every opening and forces employers to lean on AI screening, an arms race that makes the front-door application channel close to useless. The practical takeaway isn't despair; it's that referrals, direct outreach, and being findable (portfolio, open source, content) now dramatically outperform applying cold.
Read the full answer →
One email a week. Just the signal.
The week's layoffs, one chart, one insight, and what it means for your next move. No spam, no doom, unsubscribe anytime.