March 2026 was the month that saw the most layoffs in the tech industry in the past two years with over 45,800 employees let go, according to data compiled by Layoffs.fyi. Up to 92,272 tech employees were dismissed from 98 tech companies so far in 2026, as per the website on April 28.
Oracle had a considerable lead in the volume of employees that it laid off across the globe in March, with up to 30,000 employees fired. The official reason it gave was that they were part of a "broader organizational change".
As per reports, the driving factor for the layoffs seem to be tech companies attempting to create more capital to ramp up investments in AI infrastructure.
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Software firm Atlassian let go of 1,600 employees in March, citing to fund its spending commitments for AI and enterprise sales. Epic Games, the company behind the popular battle royale video game series 'Fortnite', cut 1,000 roles or 20% of its staff citing a dip in engagement with regards to the game.
While social media and wearables giant Meta let go of 700 employees in its Reality Labs department, who worked on the now-defunct Metaverse project.
The coming months will also see a considerable level of layoffs with Meta planning to let go of 8,000 employees (10% of its workforce) so far according to Reuters, with additional rounds planned in the second half of 2026. This seems to be part of the firm's reported commitment to reduce over 20% of its workforce. Microsoft is also offering to "buy out" up to 8,750 job roles.
These layoffs may also have negative externalities for the companies, as The Wall Street Journal's report stated that it might lead to a decline in employees needed to plan business models, optimise customer care, and safely deploy AI tools.
It also may incentivise talented individuals who were let go to create their own startups which provide additional competition to these tech giants. It further stated that, it might amplify backlash against AI and increase the perception of it as a "job killer". This seems to be indicated by increasing reports of opposition in rural areas in the US against the construction of AI data centres.
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AI may also not be the only reason for the layoffs as WSJ additionally reported that this may have taken place as corrective measure due to overhiring and endeavour to adhere closer to industry standards. With Oracle having a lower annual revenue per employee compared to peers like Microsoft, according to S&P Global Market Intelligence data.
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