ShutterstockTech companies are richer than ever — and laying people off like it’s a clearance sale.
The excuse? Artificial intelligence. From Microsoft to Google, they’re firing veterans, gutting teams, and pointing to AI as the reason.
By the way: AI is only getting smarter. In fact, prediction markets predict a 50% chance that we’ll achieve AGI (artificial general intelligence) by 2030.
But this isn’t about survival. It’s about power, profits, and a whole lot of people getting tossed aside while the machines clock in.
Microsoft: Profits Up, People Out
The company made $25.8 billion last quarter — and still cut 6,000 jobs. That’s 3% of its workforce. Entire teams at LinkedIn, Xbox, and Azure got axed. The focus? Shift resources to AI. Because loyalty doesn’t matter when the spreadsheets say you’re expensive.
Amazon: Alexa, Fire My Team
Amazon dumped around 100 workers in its Devices unit — the folks behind Echo, Alexa, and more. It’s not about losses. It’s about “streamlining.” Translation: we want fewer humans in the loop.
Google: ‘Collaboration’ Means You’re Fired
Google laid off 200 in its business team, promising it’ll lead to “greater collaboration.” From who? The remaining skeleton crew, or the algorithm that doesn’t sleep?
Meta: You’re Either Code or Dead Weight
Zuck’s crew started the year by laying off 5% of workers while hiring machine learning engineers at full tilt. “Reorganizing” is the new “We liked you, but you’re not an AI.”
Dell: AI Gets Promoted, You Get Cut
12,000 jobs gone. Dell says it’s creating “fewer layers” to scale smarter — which means one thing: AI gets a seat at the table, and thousands of people get the boot.
Panasonic: Goodbye TV Guy, Hello Robot Overlord
Panasonic dropped 10,000 jobs to ditch “non-growth areas” like TVs. AI, automation, and “solutions” are in. The humans who got them there? Optional.
CrowdStrike: Cybersecurity, But Make It Fewer People
Even hotshot firms like CrowdStrike are trimming the fat — 500 gone — to stay “efficient.” That’s what they call it when they replace you with code.
Match Group: Love in the Time of Layoffs
The dating app giant cut 13% of its workforce. Not because love is dead, but because the algorithms now write the love notes, set the matches, and run the business.
The Tally So Far? Over 61,000 Jobs
That’s 130+ companies and over 61,000 tech jobs lost this year. And it’s not slowing down. The official tracker, Layoffs.fyi, looks more like a body count than a business report.
AI Didn’t Ask for This. CEOs Did
Let’s be clear: This isn’t AI’s fault. It’s the boardroom’s. AI is the shiny object that justifies cutting humans loose. It’s efficient. Scalable. And makes a hell of a smokescreen for decisions driven by profit, not progress.
