A significant driver of recent job cuts has been the fallout from mergers and acquisitions, with several newly combined or acquired entities resorting to layoffs to streamline operations, eliminate redundancies, and integrate workforces more efficiently. This often unavoidable consequence of corporate consolidation reflects a drive for synergy and cost optimization, yet it invariably impacts employees caught in the crossfire of strategic restructuring.

Most prominent in the reorganization category is Elon Musk-founded SpaceX, a powerhouse in the spacetech sector. In December 2025, the Hawthorne, California-based company further solidified its position at the zenith of The Crunchbase Unicorn Board, maintaining its stratospheric valuation. Earlier this year, SpaceX announced its ambitious plans to acquire Palo Alto, California-based xAI, another innovative venture spearheaded by Musk. This high-profile acquisition, aimed at integrating xAI’s artificial intelligence capabilities directly into SpaceX’s expansive ecosystem, necessitates a comprehensive workforce reorganization. According to Musk, this strategic imperative has led to some layoffs, though the precise number of U.S. workers affected remains undisclosed, reflecting the often opaque nature of such internal restructurings within private companies.

Further exemplifying the M&A-induced restructuring trend, Bay Area startup Clari, headquartered in Sunnyvale, reported its decision to eliminate approximately 76 positions. This move comes as Clari grapples with redundancies following its merger with Atlanta-based competitor Salesloft. The combined entity, aiming to consolidate market share in the sales engagement and revenue intelligence space, is optimizing its operational footprint, leading to difficult but necessary staffing adjustments. Similarly, following its completed acquisition of cloud security specialist CyberArk, Santa Clara, California-based cybersecurity giant Palo Alto Networks announced that it would undertake adjustments, including laying off a "small portion of the combined workforce, primarily in roles where there is overlap." This calculated move ensures efficient integration of CyberArk’s capabilities while maintaining Palo Alto Networks’ market leadership, albeit at the cost of some duplicated roles.

The gaming sector also experienced significant contractions, adding to the week’s layoff tally. This includes the confirmation in early February 2026 of the closure of Intrepid Studios, a San Diego-based online game developer known for its ambitious MMORPG, Ashes of Creation. A report by Game Developer, citing co-founder Steven Sharif, indicated that the shutdown was a direct response to a decision made by the company’s board of directors, following the resignations of several key members of its leadership team. This unfortunate turn of events highlights the inherent volatility and high stakes within the competitive game development industry, where even promising projects can falter due to internal challenges or market shifts.

Across the border, British Columbia-based video game developer Hinterland, acclaimed for its survival game The Long Dark, announced layoffs affecting 10 members of its full-time staff, some of whom may be U.S.-based employees. This decision, often indicative of project scaling or funding adjustments, reflects a broader tightening across independent studios. Additionally, Woodland Hills, California’s WildLight Entertainment, a relatively new game development company, laid off a portion of its estimated 100 workers shortly after the launch of its debut video game. According to a report in Variety, the company stated its intention to retain "a core group of developers" to continue supporting its title, a common strategy for studios needing to downsize post-launch while preserving essential operational capacity.

The Crunchbase Layoffs Tracker: A Comprehensive Data Overview

The Crunchbase Tech Layoffs Tracker serves as an essential barometer for the health and direction of the U.S. tech industry, meticulously documenting job cuts from both established giants and agile startups. Our methodology ensures a broad yet focused analysis, encompassing U.S.-based companies and those with a significant operational presence in the United States, irrespective of their public or private status. We leverage a diverse array of sources, including media reports, proprietary Crunchbase News investigations, direct social media announcements, and the crowdsourced database layoffs.fyi, to provide the most accurate and timely figures. It’s important to note that layoff and workforce figures are consistently presented as best estimates, recognizing the dynamic and sometimes unconfirmed nature of such data. Our recent updates to the tracker prioritize reflecting the most current round of layoffs per company, enhancing our ability to track emergent trends with greater precision.

By the Numbers: An Evolving Landscape of Tech Employment

The cumulative data from the Crunchbase Tech Layoffs Tracker paints a stark picture of the tech sector’s journey through a period of unprecedented volatility and recalibration:

• Layoffs during the week ended Feb. 18, 2026: At least 949 U.S. tech sector employees were laid off or scheduled for layoffs, per a Crunchbase News tally. This immediate snapshot underscores the ongoing nature of workforce adjustments, even in what is now considered a more mature phase of the tech industry’s post-pandemic correction.
• In 2025: Around 127,000 workers were let go from U.S.-based tech companies, according to our tally. This figure, while substantial, represented a notable decrease from the peak of 2023, suggesting that many companies had largely completed their major restructuring efforts and were operating with leaner teams. However, the continued high volume indicated that economic pressures and the drive for efficiency remained paramount.
• In 2024: At least 95,667 workers at U.S.-based tech companies lost their jobs. This year marked a significant moderation compared to 2023, as the market began to stabilize and the most aggressive rounds of overhiring correction subsided. Companies focused more on strategic, targeted layoffs rather than broad workforce reductions.
• In 2023: More than 191,000 workers in U.S.-based tech companies (or tech companies with a large U.S. workforce) were laid off in mass job cuts. This year represented the apex of the post-pandemic correction, driven by a confluence of factors including aggressive interest rate hikes, inflation, and a significant slowdown in venture capital funding, forcing many companies to drastically cut costs.
• In 2022: More than 93,000 jobs were slashed from public and private tech companies in the U.S. This marked the initial wave of the tech downturn, as the euphoria of the pandemic-driven growth began to wane and companies started to anticipate a more challenging economic environment.

Frequently Asked Questions: Deeper Insights into Tech Layoffs

What is a layoff?
A layoff is typically a permanent termination of employment, primarily enacted for cost-saving reasons or strategic restructuring, rather than an employee’s performance. It can also be temporary if there’s insufficient work to justify a full workforce, though in the tech sector, layoffs generally fall into the permanent category. A mass layoff signifies a substantial reduction in a company’s workforce within a short timeframe, often triggered by broader economic shifts or significant corporate decisions.

Why are tech companies doing layoffs?
The surge in tech layoffs from 2022 through 2026 can be attributed to a multifaceted array of factors. During the COVID-19 pandemic, many companies, especially in e-commerce and remote work enablement, drastically expanded their workforces, sometimes doubling employee headcount, to meet an unprecedented surge in consumer demand. As daily life normalized and spending patterns shifted, many found themselves significantly overstaffed. Concurrently, large tech employers like Salesforce, Google parent Alphabet, and Amazon, after years of rapid, growth-fueled hiring between 2019 and 2022, faced slowing sales, rising operational costs, and mounting fears of a recession. This led to a strategic pivot from hyper-growth to profitability and efficiency. For venture-backed startups, the landscape became particularly challenging as venture funding experienced a significant contraction after its 2021 peak. With investors demanding clearer paths to profitability and more conservative valuations, many startups cut jobs to preserve cash reserves and extend their runways, with some unfortunately exhausting their funds and resorting to bankruptcy or outright shutdown. The prevailing macroeconomic climate, characterized by elevated inflation and higher interest rates, further amplified the pressure on companies to reduce expenses and optimize their financial health.

What were the biggest tech layoffs of 2024 and 2025?
In 2024, Intel Corp. led the U.S. tech employers in terms of workforce reductions, laying off over 15,000 employees as the semiconductor giant navigated a challenging market and restructured its operations. It was closely followed by electric-car maker Tesla, which cut more than 14,000 roles amidst efficiency drives and production adjustments, and networking powerhouse Cisco, with over 10,000 total roles cut as it streamlined its portfolio.

Looking back at 2025, while a comprehensive list of the absolute largest layoffs is still being compiled, the trend indicated continued strategic reductions across various sectors. Companies like Meta Platforms, Google, and Amazon continued to make targeted cuts, albeit smaller than their 2023 peaks, as they refined their focus areas. The emphasis shifted from broad cuts to optimizing specific departments or business units. In 2023, Amazon’s layoffs led the numbers with 16,000 roles cut. Layoffs at Alphabet, the parent company of Google, totaled about 12,000, and Microsoft’s layoffs totaled about 10,000 workers, as did Facebook parent Meta’s layoffs, reflecting a widespread recalibration across the tech giants. Many venture-backed tech startups also conducted layoffs as venture capital investment continued its sharp decline from the 2021 peak, with falling startup valuations forcing difficult decisions to conserve capital.

Are more tech layoffs coming?
While there are encouraging signs that the sheer volume of layoffs is gradually tapering, experts we’ve consulted expect job cuts in the tech sector to continue for the foreseeable future. Large tech companies and startups alike are still contending with economic headwinds, increased competition, and investor demands for sustainable profitability over unchecked growth. Seed and early-stage startups, in particular, may continue to implement layoffs as a critical measure to extend their cash runways within a persistently challenging venture funding environment. The tech sector’s journey since the start of 2022, marked by a ramp-up in layoffs through 2023, a partial abatement in 2024, and continued, albeit more targeted, reductions in 2025 and early 2026, suggests that the market is still finding its equilibrium.

What are signs that a company is planning layoffs?
Several indicators may suggest a company is more likely to conduct layoffs:

1. Hiring freezes or slowdowns: A sudden halt or significant reduction in recruitment activities often precedes layoffs.
2. Decreased revenue or profitability: Financial underperformance, missed targets, or declining market share can trigger cost-cutting measures.
3. Restructuring announcements: Any public or internal communication about organizational restructuring, mergers, or acquisitions often signals potential role overlaps.
4. Shift in strategic priorities: A pivot away from certain projects, products, or markets can lead to the elimination of associated roles.
5. Increased investor pressure: Public companies facing activist investors or private companies struggling to secure new funding may be forced to streamline operations.
6. Economic downturn: Broader economic recessionary signals or industry-specific slumps often prompt preemptive cost reductions.
7. Executive departures: High-level leadership changes can sometimes precede significant organizational shifts, including layoffs.

When will layoffs stop?
Pinpointing an exact end date for tech layoffs is challenging, as the phenomenon is deeply intertwined with macroeconomic conditions, technological innovation cycles, and individual company strategies. However, the consensus among analysts suggests that while the intensity seen in 2023 is unlikely to return, the tech sector is entering a phase of "structural optimization." This implies that layoffs will become more targeted, focused on specific underperforming units, redundant roles post-M&A, or areas where AI automation begins to replace human tasks. The market is expected to stabilize further as companies achieve desired efficiency levels and venture funding begins a more sustained recovery, but a complete cessation of layoffs is improbable in a dynamic industry.

How many recent tech layoffs have there been?
Tech layoffs surged during the 2022 market correction, with an estimated 93,000 U.S. tech workers laid off that year. This figure more than doubled in 2023, reaching around 191,000 U.S. tech employees, according to our Tech Layoffs Tracker. Layoffs abated significantly in 2024, with approximately 95,000 reported tech layoffs, and continued at a more moderate pace in 2025 with about 127,000. In the current week ending February 18, 2026, we’ve tallied at least 949 U.S. tech sector employees affected. It’s important to remember that many companies do not report detailed layoff figures, and selective hiring for critical roles often continues even amidst broader cuts.

What jobs are being cut in tech layoffs?
Tech layoffs have impacted departments across the board, reflecting a comprehensive effort to optimize workforces. While early waves saw significant cuts in non-revenue-generating roles such as talent acquisition, recruiting, and marketing—often the first to be scaled back during hiring freezes—subsequent rounds have increasingly affected core technical roles. Many layoffs from the large tech giants in 2023-2024, for instance, included software engineers, data scientists, and product managers. Startups, conversely, often prioritize retaining engineers to maintain product development, opting for cuts in administrative, support, and sales departments. Google cut roles across its sales, recruiting, product, and engineering teams. Amazon layoffs included jobs in its AWS cloud unit, at its social video platform Twitch, and in its advertising department. Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg famously stated that the company’s recruiting department would be among the first to see job cuts, followed by broader cuts across other units as the company pivoted to an "efficiency era."

Where can I read recent tech layoff news?
Follow all of our tech layoffs news here and track which companies are cutting jobs with the comprehensive layoffs tracker provided above. Crunchbase News is your go-to source for in-depth analysis and timely updates on the evolving tech employment landscape.

Where can I see layoffs in the last 24 hours?
While not updated daily to reflect every 24-hour cycle, this Crunchbase Tech Layoffs Tracker is updated weekly, and often more frequently, to capture the latest significant job cuts at U.S. tech employers, ensuring you have access to the most current trends and major announcements.

Which companies are hiring for open tech jobs?
Despite the ongoing layoffs in the sector, many tech companies continue to actively hire for open roles, particularly in critical areas or for specialized skills. Crunchbase’s actively hiring data helps users identify companies with multiple open roles. You can leverage Crunchbase’s sophisticated filters to find companies that are expanding their teams even as others contract. You can find all of our job market-related news here to stay informed about hiring trends and opportunities.

Can I cite the Crunchbase Tech Layoffs Tracker?
Yes. Please cite Crunchbase News and include a direct link to this Tech Layoffs Tracker in your publication or report. We encourage the use of our data to inform broader discussions on the tech industry’s health and evolution.