This comprehensive tracker provides a real-time pulse on the evolving landscape of U.S. tech sector employment, highlighting the latest workforce adjustments, strategic shifts, and the underlying economic and technological forces driving them, including the increasing integration of artificial intelligence and the ongoing need for corporate fiscal realignment.

PayPal Leads Weekly US Tech Layoffs Tally As Oracle Kicks Off Yet Another RIF Round

The week ending September 16, 2026, saw a continued, albeit slightly moderated, wave of U.S. tech layoffs, with a total of at least 659 employees in the tech sector either immediately impacted or scheduled for future workforce reductions, according to Crunchbase News’ tally. While the overall number remained in the three digits, the strategic motivations behind these cuts signal a profound shift within the industry, as companies aggressively free up capital to funnel into artificial intelligence initiatives and address mounting financial obligations.

Leading this week’s grim tally is digital payments titan PayPal. The San Jose, California-based company announced immediate plans to pare down 251 workers from its headquarters office. More significantly, PayPal disclosed a strategic roadmap projecting an additional 20% workforce reduction over the next few years. This aggressive cost-cutting measure is explicitly aimed at reinvesting substantial funds into artificial intelligence. In a highly competitive digital payments landscape, AI is no longer a luxury but a necessity for enhancing fraud detection, personalizing user experiences, automating customer service, and optimizing operational efficiencies. PayPal’s move reflects a broader industry trend where established players are streamlining their human capital to accelerate AI adoption, seeking to maintain their competitive edge against nimble fintech startups and other tech giants entering the payments space. This strategic pivot underscores the company’s commitment to innovation and efficiency in a rapidly evolving market, even if it comes at the cost of significant job losses.

Meanwhile, Austin-based software giant Oracle initiated another round of reductions in force (RIF) this week. While the precise number of affected employees was not disclosed by Oracle, Business Insider reported that these layoffs are a direct consequence of the company’s ambitious strategy to repay substantial debt incurred from its aggressive build-out of data centers. Furthermore, these cuts are intended to fund forward-looking construction plans, particularly to meet the surging global demand for artificial intelligence workloads. Oracle’s cloud infrastructure (OCI) has been making significant inroads, positioning itself as a key player in the AI infrastructure race alongside AWS, Azure, and Google Cloud. The investment required for high-performance computing, specialized GPUs, and robust data centers to support AI training and inference is enormous. By shedding workforce in certain areas, Oracle is effectively reallocating resources to bolster its AI capabilities, ensuring it can capitalize on the lucrative market for AI-powered cloud services and infrastructure. This move highlights the intense capital requirements of the AI era and the strategic sacrifices companies are willing to make to secure their future in this domain.

Beyond these major players, the week also saw unfortunate closures and significant operational changes. Seattle gaming developer Polyarc, known for its critically acclaimed virtual reality title "Moss," reportedly shut down entirely. This closure serves as a stark reminder of the volatile nature of the gaming industry, where even beloved independent studios can succumb to market pressures, funding challenges, or the inherent difficulties of niche markets like VR. The highly competitive landscape, rising development costs, and the struggle for consistent profitability often make it challenging for smaller studios to sustain operations without consistent blockbuster hits or strong financial backing.

In a near-total closure, Chicago-based health insurance marketplace GoHealth announced plans to shut down the majority of its current operations, impacting 103 jobs, with layoffs commencing in early November and concluding by the end of the year. The health insurance marketplace sector is fraught with complexities, including intense competition, evolving regulatory environments, and the challenge of scaling profitably while navigating intricate healthcare systems. GoHealth’s decision to drastically scale back operations likely stems from unsustainable business models, inability to compete effectively, or a shift in strategic direction in a highly dynamic market.

Tech Layoffs: US Companies That Cut Jobs 2022-2026

The recent layoffs are part of a broader, multi-year trend reshaping the U.S. tech industry. The "Crunchbase Tech Layoffs Tracker" meticulously chronicles these shifts, offering critical insights into the scale and frequency of job cuts.

By the numbers:

• Layoffs during the week ended Sept. 16, 2026: At least 659 U.S. tech sector employees were laid off or scheduled for layoffs, per a Crunchbase News tally.
• In 2025: Around 127,000 workers were let go from U.S.-based tech companies, reflecting a continued, albeit slower, pace of rightsizing after the intense cuts of prior years.
• In 2024: At least 95,667 workers at U.S.-based tech companies lost their jobs, indicating a stabilization but not an end to workforce reductions. This year saw more targeted cuts as companies refined their post-pandemic strategies.
• 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, marking the peak of the post-pandemic correction. This year was characterized by widespread layoffs across giants and startups alike.
• In 2022: More than 93,000 jobs were slashed from public and private tech companies in the U.S., signaling the beginning of the market correction after years of aggressive growth.

Why are Tech Companies Doing Layoffs? An Evolving Narrative

Tech layoffs, which surged dramatically in 2022 and continued through 2023 and 2024, are driven by a confluence of factors that have evolved over time. Initially, many companies, especially those in e-commerce and collaboration tools, experienced unprecedented demand during the COVID-19 pandemic’s stay-at-home mandates. This led to aggressive overhiring, often doubling employee headcounts in short periods. As daily life returned to normal and consumer habits shifted, these companies found themselves significantly overstaffed, prompting massive "rightsizing" efforts.

Simultaneously, macroeconomic headwinds played a crucial role. Rising inflation, increased interest rates, and fears of a looming recession forced companies to prioritize profitability and efficiency over unchecked growth. This fiscal tightening made venture capital funding significantly scarcer for startups, leading many to cut jobs to extend their cash runways or, in some cases, to file for bankruptcy or shut down entirely. Large tech employers like Google parent Alphabet, Amazon, Microsoft, and Salesforce also cited slowing sales and the need for greater operational efficiency after years of rapid expansion.

In 2025 and 2026, a new dominant driver has emerged: the transformative impact of artificial intelligence. While AI promises unprecedented opportunities, its integration requires massive investment in specialized talent, infrastructure, and research and development. Companies are strategically shedding jobs in departments deemed less critical or those that can be augmented or replaced by AI, in order to reallocate resources towards AI-centric initiatives. This includes repaying debt incurred from building AI-supporting data centers, as seen with Oracle, and freeing up funds to hire AI specialists and acquire cutting-edge AI technologies, as exemplified by PayPal’s strategic shift.

Companies with the Biggest Workforce Reductions in Recent Years

The scale of these layoffs has been substantial, with some of the industry’s largest players leading the numbers.

In 2024, Intel Corp. notably laid off more than 15,000 employees, reflecting significant restructuring within the semiconductor industry. Electric-car maker Tesla followed closely, cutting over 14,000 roles, while networking giant Cisco reduced its workforce by more than 10,000. These figures underscore the broad impact across diverse tech sub-sectors.

In 2023, Amazon led with 16,000 roles cut across various departments, including its AWS cloud unit, Twitch, and advertising. Alphabet, Google’s parent company, saw layoffs totaling about 12,000. Microsoft’s cuts impacted around 10,000 workers, a similar number to Facebook parent Meta’s layoffs, which notably began with its recruiting department. Many venture-backed tech startups also conducted significant layoffs as venture capital investment fell sharply from its 2021 peak, leading to falling startup valuations and a greater emphasis on lean operations.

Are More Tech Layoffs Coming?

Experts largely agree that more layoffs are likely on the horizon. While the sheer volume of cuts seen in 2023 may be tapering, job reductions in the tech sector are expected to continue for the foreseeable future. Economic headwinds persist, and companies are still navigating the complexities of post-pandemic market corrections and intense competition. The strategic imperative to invest heavily in AI means ongoing restructuring and reallocation of human capital. Seed and early-stage startups, in particular, will likely continue to conduct layoffs to extend their cash runways in a challenging venture funding environment. The shift isn’t necessarily a contraction of the tech industry as a whole, but rather a significant transformation, with resources being moved from older models to new, AI-driven paradigms.

What Jobs Are Being Cut in Tech Layoffs?

Tech layoffs have impacted virtually all departments within companies, though with varying concentrations. Initially, during the post-pandemic correction, many layoffs from large tech giants targeted software engineers who had been hired en masse. However, startups often retained engineers, choosing instead to cut jobs in talent and recruiting, marketing, and other non-engineering departments to preserve their core product development capabilities.

More recently, the cuts have become more diversified and strategic. Google has cut roles across its sales, recruiting, product, and engineering teams. Amazon’s layoffs included jobs in its AWS cloud unit, its social video platform Twitch, and its advertising department. Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg specifically highlighted that the company’s recruiting department would be among the first to see job cuts, reflecting a broader slowdown in hiring across the industry. The ongoing AI transformation is also leading to cuts in roles that can be automated or are deemed less central to AI development and deployment, while simultaneously creating demand for new, specialized AI roles.

Methodology

This Crunchbase Tech Layoffs Tracker includes layoffs conducted by U.S.-based companies or those with a strong U.S. presence and is updated at least bi-weekly. We include both startups and publicly traded, tech-heavy companies. Companies based elsewhere that have a sizable team in the United States, such as Klarna, are also included, even when it’s unclear how much of the U.S. workforce has been affected by layoffs.

Layoff and workforce figures are best estimates based on rigorous reporting. We source the layoffs from media reports, our own investigative reporting, social media posts, and layoffs.fyi, a crowdsourced database of tech layoffs. We recently updated our tracker to reflect the most recent round of layoffs each company has conducted, allowing for quicker and more accurate tracking of layoff trends. If an employee headcount cannot be confirmed to our standards, it is noted as “unclear.”

Frequently Asked Questions

What is a layoff?
A layoff is typically a permanent termination of employment, usually for cost-saving reasons or strategic restructuring, rather than performance. It differs from a firing as it’s not fault-based. Mass layoffs occur when a significant number of employees are cut in a short period, often due to economic conditions or major business shifts. Tech company layoffs generally fall into the permanent category driven by strategic business decisions.

What were the biggest tech layoffs of 2024?
Intel Corp. led U.S. tech employers in 2024 with over 15,000 layoffs. Tesla followed with more than 14,000 roles cut, and Cisco with over 10,000 total roles. These reflect major industry shifts in semiconductors, automotive tech, and networking.

What were the biggest tech layoffs of 2023?
In 2023, Amazon led with 16,000 roles cut. Alphabet (Google’s parent) laid off about 12,000, and Microsoft’s layoffs totaled about 10,000 workers, as did Meta’s (Facebook parent) layoffs. Many venture-backed tech startups also conducted layoffs as venture capital investment fell sharply since the peak in 2021.

What are signs that a company is planning layoffs?
Signs can include a hiring freeze, rescinded job offers, a shift in corporate communication emphasizing cost-cutting or efficiency, unexplained executive departures, restructuring of departments, significant declines in revenue or market share, or a sudden change in strategic direction.

When will layoffs stop?
It’s unlikely that layoffs will stop entirely. The tech industry is dynamic, constantly adapting to new technologies, market demands, and economic cycles. While the current intense wave may subside, ongoing strategic adjustments, especially driven by AI and evolving market conditions, suggest that workforce recalibrations will remain a regular feature.

How many recent tech layoffs have there been?
Tech layoffs started surging in the 2022 market correction, with an estimated 93,000 U.S. tech workers laid off that year. That figure more than doubled in 2023, with around 191,000 U.S. tech employees laid off. Layoffs abated somewhat in 2024, with around 95,000 reported tech layoffs, and continued in 2025 and 2026. Keep in mind, many companies don’t report detailed layoff figures, and some companies continue hiring after cuts for positions deemed more beneficial to the business.

Is selling the company a good option to avoid layoffs?
Selling a company can sometimes avoid mass layoffs if the acquiring entity integrates the workforce, but it often leads to redundancies and layoffs post-acquisition as operations are streamlined. It’s a complex decision with varied outcomes.

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 Crunchbase Tech Layoffs Tracker above, updated regularly.

Where can I see layoffs in the last 24 hours?
While not updated daily, this Crunchbase Tech Layoffs Tracker is updated weekly, if not more frequently, with the latest job cuts at U.S. tech employers, providing the most current aggregated data available.

Which companies are hiring for open tech jobs?
Many tech companies continue to hire for open roles, despite layoffs in the sector. These hires are often strategic, focusing on critical areas like AI, cloud computing, cybersecurity, and specialized engineering. You can find more about Crunchbase’s Actively Hiring filter and how to identify companies with multiple open roles to help navigate the job market. You can find all of our job market-related news here.

Can I cite the Crunchbase Tech Layoffs Tracker?
Yes. Please cite Crunchbase News and include a link to this Tech Layoffs Tracker when referencing our data or analysis.