The tech industry entered 2025 carrying the weight of a stormy past. The year before, more than 150,000 employees were let go across nearly 550 companies, according to the independent tracker Layoffs.fyi. That figure was staggering on its own, but perhaps even more telling was the sentiment it left behind: no company, no matter how established or well-funded, was truly safe.
Now in 2025, the pattern has continued. By August, more than 80,000 jobs had already disappeared. Some months recorded relatively lighter impacts, while others saw industry-shaking announcements that redefined the direction of tech companies and their workers. Beneath all these decisions lies a consistent tension of the balancing act between efficiency and innovation, between long-term survival and the human cost of job loss.
This detailed review breaks down layoffs month by month, highlighting not only the numbers but also the stories and trends behind them.
January 2025: A Cautious Beginning
Total layoffs: 2,403 employees
January did not deliver huge headline numbers, yet it showed how broad the pressure had become across fintech, e-commerce, climate tech, enterprise software, and big tech. Closures sat alongside surgical trims. Several companies framed cuts as steps toward profitability or a tighter focus, while a few drew a line under entire chapters.
Full shutdowns that set the tone
Cushion ceased its operations, as stated by CEO Paul Kesserwani in a LinkedIn post. The fintech was valued at $82.4 million post-money in 2022, according to PitchBook, which makes the shutdown feel especially abrupt for a venture that once looked well-capitalised.
Pandion also wound down operations, affecting 63 employees. Staff are being paid through January 15, but there is no severance, a tough start to the year for logistics and last-mile workers.
Level, the fintech founded in 2018, shut down earlier in the year after failing to secure a buyer. In a note to staff, CEO Paul Aaron said Employer.com had a post-shutdown acquisition offer under consideration, a small glimmer of possibility amid the closure.
Profitability pushes and focused realignments
Placer.ai reduced 150 U.S. roles, about 18% of its workforce, to move faster toward profitability. The cut concentrated on U.S. staff and marked one of January’s larger percentage reductions among growth-stage firms.
Altruist eliminated 37 jobs, roughly 10% of the company, while still describing its overall hiring posture as “aggressive.” It was a clear message to investors and customers that discipline and growth can coexist, at least in plan.
Aqua Security trimmed dozens of roles across global markets as part of a restructuring aimed at improving profitability. Security budgets may be resilient, but even cybersecurity vendors are tightening where they can.
Textio laid off 15 employees in a restructuring of its augmented-writing business. It was a smaller cut in absolute terms, yet another sign that 2025 would be about sharpening product-market fit and spend.
Consumer platforms and commerce recalibrate
Amazon let go of dozens in its communications organisation to, in its words, move faster, increase ownership, strengthen culture, and bring teams closer to customers. Communications is rarely the first area where people expect cuts, which makes this notable.
Wayfair said it would cut up to 730 jobs, about 3% of its workforce, as it exits Germany and shifts more attention to physical retail partners. The move reflects a rebalancing between online scale and the realities of channel mix.
Pocket FM reduced 75 employees to “ensure long-term sustainability and success.” The audio company’s prior cuts are part of the context here. It let go of 200 writers in July 2024 following its partnership with ElevenLabs, so January’s reduction extended a longer restructuring arc.
Climate and energy felt macro headwinds
Aurora Solar planned to cut 58 employees, citing ongoing macroeconomic challenges and continued uncertainty in the solar industry. Demand and financing cycles remain uneven for clean-energy software, and vendors are aligning costs to that reality.
SolarEdge Technologies planned 400 global layoffs. This is the fourth round since January 2024, reinforcing how a broader solar downturn continues to ripple through the value chain, affecting both hardware makers and adjacent software players.
Big tech signals and high-profile trims
Stripe planned to lay off 300 people, according to a leaked internal memo reported by Business Insider. The same memo indicated Stripe still expects to grow total headcount by 17%, a classic 2025 storyline where companies reshape the mix rather than simply shrink.
Meta told employees, via internal memo, that it would cut 5% of staff, targeting “low performers” as it prepared for an intense year. Meta reported more than 72,000 employees in its latest quarterly filing, so the percentage guidance landed with weight even without a confirmed absolute figure for January.
Icon filed a WARN notice and laid off 114 employees as part of a team realignment that concentrates resources on its robotic printing system. The message was a familiar one this year: fewer bets, deeper focus on a core platform.
February 2025: A Brutal Wave
Total layoffs: 16,234 employees
February was when 2025 truly showed its teeth. More than 16,000 workers lost their jobs across a wide spectrum of companies, from household names to promising startups. If January hinted at turbulence, February confirmed that the industry was in for another relentless year.
Big Tech and Industry Giants Make Cuts
HP kicked off with plans to cut up to 2,000 jobs under its “Future Now” restructuring program, a sweeping initiative designed to save $300 million before the end of the fiscal year. The move reflected a recurring theme in 2025: efficiency was no longer optional, even for established giants.
Autodesk followed with a major round, laying off 1,350 employees, nearly 9% of its global headcount. The cuts were tied to an overhaul of its go-to-market (GTM) model, with additional cost reductions in facilities. While offices wouldn’t be shut, spending was being trimmed at nearly every level.
Google began reorganising its People Operations and cloud teams, offering a voluntary exit program to U.S.-based HR staff. Though the company didn’t provide hard numbers, the restructuring was part of its ongoing shift toward a leaner workforce in non-engineering functions.
In an unexpected twist, Starbucks announced it was cutting 1,100 technology jobs. While known primarily as a coffee chain, Starbucks has invested heavily in digital platforms in recent years. The layoffs showed that even non-traditional tech players were not immune. Much of its tech work will now be outsourced.
The aerospace sector wasn’t spared either. Blue Origin said it would cut more than 1,000 employees, about 10% of its workforce, with engineers and program managers hit hardest. The move reflected growing caution even in ambitious, long-horizon industries like space exploration.
Workday, a leading HR software firm, also stunned the industry with a layoff of 1,750 employees, or about 8.5% of its headcount. The company framed the cuts as part of “efficiency measures,” even as it maintained strong revenue growth.
Finally, Salesforce reportedly eliminated more than 1,000 jobs, a striking figure given that the company was simultaneously hiring aggressively to expand its AI product sales team. This duality of job cuts on one side and targeted hires on the other became one of 2025’s defining themes.
Enterprise Firms and SaaS Under Pressure
The enterprise sector, often seen as more stable, also saw deep cuts. Zendesk eliminated 51 jobs at its San Francisco headquarters, following an 8% cut in 2023. Dayforce, formerly known as Ceridian, cut 5% of its workforce to boost profitability.
Okta, the identity management giant, cut 180 employees, its second round of layoffs in just over a year after eliminating 400 roles in 2024. Sprinklr slashed 500 employees, about 15% of staff, citing weak business performance, which is its third round of reductions in less than two years.
Sonos, known for its premium speakers, reportedly let go of 200 workers, following an earlier cut of 100 in mid-2024.
Expedia, still trimming after last year’s 1,500-person reduction, confirmed additional job cuts in February, though the exact number wasn’tdisclosed.
Startups and Growth Companies Hit Hard
Startups bore significant pain as well. GrubHub, freshly acquired by Wonder Group for $650 million, cut 500 employees, more than 20% of its staff. The reduction was described as a way to streamline after the acquisition.
Commercetools, a German “headless commerce” startup once valued at $1.9 billion, laid off dozens of employees, including 10% of its staff in a single day, after falling short of sales targets.
In the biotech space, Nautilus, working on proteome analysis, reduced 25 roles, about 16% of its team, while reaffirming its plan to launch a commercial product in 2026.
Vendease, a Nigerian food-supply startup backed by Y Combinator, cut 120 employees, nearly 44% of its staff, its second layoff in five months.
Logically, a startup focused on combating misinformation also let go of dozens in a cost-cutting push aimed at ensuring long-term viability.
HerMD, a women’s healthcare startup that raised $18 million in 2023, shut down its brick-and-mortar model to go fully virtual, eliminating an undisclosed number of roles tied to its physical clinics.
Full Shutdowns and Collapses
Skybox Security shut down operations entirely after selling its assets to Israeli cybersecurity firm Tufin, leaving roughly 300 employees without jobs.
In the mobility sector, Bird, the Dutch startup, cut 120 jobs, around one-third of its workforce. This came just a year after it had already trimmed 90 employees following its rebrand.
And in one of the month’s biggest shocks, GM’s autonomous vehicle unit Cruise announced it would lay off 50% of staff, including CEO Marc Whitten and other top executives, as it prepared to shut down operations. What remained of Cruise would fold under General Motors.
Regional Cuts and Targeted Reductions
eBay reportedly cut dozens of employees in Israel, roughly 10% of its 250-person workforce in the country. Zepz, a cross-border payments company, eliminated nearly 200 employees, shutting operations in both Poland and Kenya.
Unity, meanwhile, reportedly conducted another layoff round, though the company did not disclose numbers. Just Works, an HR and payroll startup, laid off 200 employees after CEO Mike Seckler warned of potential risks such as a recession and rising interest rates.
March 2025: Still Painful, Less Chaotic
Total layoffs: 8,834 employees
After February’s storm, March still delivered another heavy blow, with nearly 9,000 jobs lost. What stood out this month wasn’t just the number of layoffs but the diversity of industries affected.
Clean Energy and Manufacturing Struggles
The largest single layoff of March came from Northvolt, the Swedish battery maker once seen as a centre piece of Europe’s clean-energy ambitions. Just weeks after filing for bankruptcy, Northvolt cut 2,800 employees, a staggering 62% of its staff. For an industry betting heavily on energy storage and electrification, the collapse of such a prominent player was a sobering reminder of the risks tied to capital-intensive clean-tech ventures.
Siemens also confirmed it would eliminate 5,600 jobs globally across its automation and electric-vehicle charging businesses. The decision was framed as an effort to “improve competitiveness,” but it sent ripples through Germany’s industrial sector, long viewed as the backbone of European tech manufacturing.
High-Profile Tech and SaaS Firms
In fintech, Block, co-founded and led by Jack Dorsey, cut 931 employees, roughly 8% of its workforce. Dorsey’s internal note clarified that the layoffs weren’t financially driven or about replacing workers with AI. Instead, it was described as a structural reorganisation to streamline operations and sharpen focus.
Streaming company Brightcove laid off 198 employees, making up about two-thirds of its U.S. workforce. The move came shortly after its $233 million acquisition by Italian app developer Bending Spoons. As of December 2023, Brightcove had 600 global employees, with 300 based in the U.S., so this represented a dramatic shift in its American operations.
Acxiom, owned by Interpublic Group (IPG), eliminated 130 jobs, or about 3.5% of its 3,700-person workforce. The announcement came just a day after shareholders approved a potential merger between IPG and Omnicom Group, suggesting larger structural changes are on the horizon for the marketing and data powerhouse.
Startups Under Pressure
Several smaller firms also faced layoffs. Otorio, a cybersecurity company acquired by Armis for $120 million in March, let go of 45 employees, more than half its team, as integration reshaped operations.
Other cybersecurity firms also downsized. Active Fence reduced 22 jobs, around 7% of its workforce, primarily in Israel. D-ID, an AI startup known for synthetic media, also cut 22 positions, roughly a quarter of its headcount, after announcing a partnership with Microsoft.
Gaming startup Rec Room cut 16% of its workforce, describing the change as a move to become “scrappier” and more efficient.
In India, Ola Electric prepared to lay off more than 1,000 employees and contractors, its second major round in just five months, as the EV company worked to curb costs while scaling production.
E-commerce took a hit as well. Wayfair announced plans to eliminate 340 employees in its technology division as part of restructuring. ANS Commerce, acquired by Flipkart in 2021, shut down completely after just three years, though the exact number of affected employees wasn’t disclosed.
Food, Retail, and Consumer Goods
Meal-kit company HelloFresh said it would lay off 273 employees as it closed its distribution centre in Grand Prairie, Texas, consolidating operations into a nearby Irving facility. The cut was framed as a logistical consolidation, but still left hundreds without work.
LiveRamp, a data connectivity platform, confirmed it was cutting 65 roles, about 5% of its workforce, while Zonar Systems reportedly laid off staff, though it did not confirm the number of employees affected.
Government and Policy Shifts
In a surprising turn, NASA announced that it would shut down several offices in line with internal restructuring directives, including its Office of Technology, Policy, and Strategy and its Office of Diversity and Equal Opportunity (DEI branch). While numbers weren’t disclosed, the closures represented a symbolic departure from traditional areas of focus.
Meanwhile, venture capital giant Sequoia Capital said it would close its Washington, D.C. office and eliminate its small policy team of three full-time employees by the end of March. The office had been opened just five years earlier to strengthen ties with U.S. policymakers, so its closure pointed to shifting priorities for the legendary VC firm.
Regional and Global Layoffs
In Ireland, TikTok confirmed plans to lay off up to 300 workers in Dublin, roughly 10% of its local workforce. With Dublin having become a key European hub for tech companies, the reduction was widely felt in the region’s employment market.
Finally, HPE (Hewlett Packard Enterprise) announced plans to cut 2,500 roles, or 5% of its workforce, after its shares dropped 19% in the first fiscal quarter. This highlighted how quickly investor sentiment can trigger workforce reductions at public companies.
April 2025: The Breaking Point
Total layoffs: more than 24,500 employees
April 2025 marked the single most devastating month of the year so far, with over 24,500 roles eliminated. The scale was driven by one historic announcement from Intel, but the month was defined by widespread restructuring across gaming, e-commerce, enterprise software, and even logistics.
Intel Dominates Headlines with Historic Cuts
The centrepiece of April’s layoffs was Intel, which announced it would cut more than 21,000 employees, amounting to roughly 20% of its workforce. The move came just before its Q1 earnings call under new CEO Lip-Bu Tan, who had recently replaced longtime chief Pat Gelsinger. For decades, Intel had been seen as a stable employer, especially in semiconductor manufacturing. This announcement shattered that perception, signalling a radical shift in strategy as the company sought to reposition itself for an AI-driven and highly competitive chipmaking future.
Gaming, E-Commerce, and Consumer Tech Reshape
Electronic Arts confirmed that it would cut 300 to 400 jobs, including around 100 at Respawn Entertainment, known for titles like Apex Legends and Star Wars Jedi: Survivor. The company said the decision was tied to “long-term strategic priorities” rather than immediate financial distress.
Expedia continued its restructuring journey by laying off about 3% of staff, mostly mid-level positions in its product and technology teams. This followed March’s global marketing cuts, reinforcing a broad strategy of trimming layers across the organisation.
In India, Cars24 reduced about 200 jobs across its product and technology divisions. The e-commerce platform for pre-owned vehicles has raised more than $450 million and was valued at $3.3 billion in 2023, but even well-capitalised firms are cutting to stay lean.
Meta also trimmed its Reality Labs division, letting go of over 100 employees. The cuts focused on staff building VR experiences for Quest headsets and those in hardware operations, consolidating overlapping functions.
Turo, the San Francisco–based car rental startup, cut 150 positions after pulling back its IPO ambitions. With roughly 1,000 staff in 2024, this represented a significant slice, and management framed the move as strengthening long-term growth plans during uncertain market conditions.
Startups Struggling for Efficiency
Zopper, the Indian insurtech startup, reportedly let go of about 100 employees since the start of the year. Around 50 of those cuts came in April from tech and product teams. The company has raised $125 million to date, but profitability pressures remain strong.
GupShup, a conversational AI company valued at $1.4 billion in 2021, cut 200 employees in its second layoff round in five months (it had already reduced 300 roles in December 2024). With operations in San Francisco and India, the company said the move was about streamlining to improve efficiency and profitability.
Forto, a German logistics startup, eliminated 200 jobs, about one-third of its workforce. Sales staff were particularly affected, highlighting demand-side challenges in logistics and freight.
Wicresoft, Microsoft’s first joint venture in China, ended its operations in the country, displacing around 2,000 employees. The closure followed Microsoft’s decision to halt outsourcing after-sales support to Wicresoft amid escalating trade tensions.
Enterprise Software and SaaS Cuts
NetApp, the San Francisco–based data storage and CloudOps provider, eliminated 700 roles, or about 6% of its total workforce, in pursuit of operational efficiency.
Five9, a cloud software company, confirmed plans to cut 123 jobs, approximately 4% of its staff. Leadership said the reductions would help it prioritise AI-driven growth initiatives.
Automattic, best known as the developer behind WordPress.com, cut 16% of its global workforce, which translated to more than 270 employees out of 1,744. The layoffs spanned multiple departments, reflecting a company-wide reorganisation.
Canva also carried out small but symbolic cuts, eliminating 10 to 12 technical writers. The move came nine months after Canva urged employees to lean on generative AI tools, raising questions about whether AI had already begun replacing certain roles internally. The company remains one of the world’s most highly valued startups at $26 billion, but the decision highlighted how generative AI is reshaping workplace structures.
Big Tech Joins the Restructuring Wave
Google cut hundreds of employees in its platforms and devices division, which covers Android, Pixel phones, the Chrome browser, and more. This was yet another signal that even Google is tightening operations in its core product teams while doubling down on AI projects.
Meanwhile, Microsoft was reported to be considering further layoffs in May, according to Business Insider. Insiders suggested the company was debating reductions in middle management and non-coder roles to boost the ratio of programmers to product managers.
May 2025: The Domino Effect
Total layoffs: 10,397 employees
If April was the month of a catastrophic peak driven by Intel’s massive restructuring, May reflected a different kind of reality: widespread but smaller-scale cuts across multiple industries. From telehealth and edtech to e-commerce, cybersecurity, and even the ambitious world of fusion energy, over 7,600 jobs were lost globally. While no single announcement matched the shock value of Intel, the diversity of sectors affected highlighted the tech industry’s broad recalibration.
Big Tech Continues Its Retrenchment
The month’s most significant move came from Microsoft, which announced plans to cut 6,500 jobs, or about 3% of its global workforce of 228,000 employees. This was one of the company’s largest workforce reductions since 2023, when it cut 10,000 employees. The timing was particularly notable as Microsoft remains deeply profitable and heavily invested in AI, yet the company is reshaping its workforce to align with its evolving priorities.
Amazon also appeared in the headlines, though its cuts were more modest. The company reportedly laid off about 100 employees from its devices and services division, which spans the Alexa voice assistant, Echo smart speakers, Ring video doorbells, and its Zoox robotaxi unit. Since early 2022, Amazon has trimmed more than 27,000 roles across divisions, underscoring its commitment to long-term cost discipline.
Telehealth and Edtech Face Hard Truths
Hims & Hers, the San Francisco telehealth platform, announced that it would let go of 68 employees, representing about 4% of its staff. The company emphasised that the move was unrelated to the U.S. ban on producing large quantities of Wegovy, a popular weight-loss drug. Instead, management framed the layoffs as part of a long-term reshaping of its workforce while continuing to recruit for strategic roles.
In the edtech sector, Chegg disclosed plans to lay off 248 employees, or roughly 22% of its staff. The company, once a go-to for textbook rentals and tutoring, has been under sustained pressure as students increasingly turn to generative AI tools for academic help. Chegg’s web traffic has fallen significantly in recent months, leaving the company with little choice but to slim down operations to reduce costs and seek efficiency.
Cybersecurity and Enterprise Software Tighten Operations
Cybersecurity also made the layoff list in May. CrowdStrike, a global leader in endpoint protection, announced a reduction of 5% of its workforce, equivalent to about 500 employees. The company described the cuts as part of a larger strategic plan designed to yield efficiencies while scaling with “focus and discipline.” In its 8-K filing, CrowdStrike tied the decision to its ambitious goal of reaching $10 billion in ending Annual Recurring Revenue (ARR), showing that even growth-focused firms are recalibrating operations to balance ambition with financial discipline.
Another cybersecurity firm, Deep Instinct, reduced its headcount by 20 employees, or 10% of its workforce. This was not its first major adjustment. In April 2023, the Israeli startup had also cut around 20 roles. The repeated action reflected how smaller cybersecurity players are struggling to maintain growth amid intensifying competition and rising operational costs.
Fusion Energy and Climate Tech Hit Barriers
The month also revealed cracks in two futuristic industries that had long been touted as resilient to short-term cycles.
In Vancouver, General Fusion, a high-profile startup developing fusion energy technology, cut 25% of its workforce. The company has raised more than $440 million from heavyweight investors, including Jeff Bezos, Temasek, and BDC Capital. Yet despite the high-profile backing, scaling experimental clean energy technologies remains financially demanding, forcing the startup to recalibrate.
Meanwhile, in the U.K., Beam, a climate tech startup, announced it would shut down entirely. Just months after unveiling major expansion plans, the company collapsed, letting go of approximately 200 employees. The news was confirmed via a LinkedIn post by its head of talent, James Reynolds, and was a sobering reminder that even climate-focused ventures are not immune to financial pressures.
Match Group Adjusts to Market Pressures
Match Group, the parent company behind popular dating apps like Tinder, Hinge, and Match.com, announced plans to cut 13% of its workforce. While the company did not disclose exact headcount numbers, the restructuring was framed around reducing costs, improving margins, and streamlining organizational structures. With dating apps under increasing pressure from shifting consumer preferences and rising competition, Match’s decision fits into a wider trend of platform companies slimming down to adapt.
June 2025: A Temporary Breather
Total layoffs: 1,606 employees
June was not defined by raw numbers the way April or May had been. Instead, it was marked by strategic pivots and AI-driven restructuring that cut deep in specific divisions while signalling much larger changes on the horizon.
Big Tech Restructures Around AI
Google’s latest move highlighted how quickly priorities are shifting. The company reportedly downsized its smart TV division by 25%, cutting about 75 roles from a 300-member team. At the same time, funding for this group, including Google TV and Android TV, was slashed by 10%, while AI projects received expanded investment. The message was clear: consumer-facing hardware will take a back seat while AI drives the company’s long-term bets.
Meanwhile, Microsoft returned to the layoff cycle barely weeks after announcing cuts of 6,500 employees in May. This round was smaller but cut across multiple roles, affecting software engineers, product managers, program managers, marketers, and legal counsels. For Microsoft, which has leaned aggressively into AI partnerships and cloud-driven growth, these rolling cuts reflect an ongoing effort to rebalance its workforce toward revenue-generating and innovation-heavy areas.
But the biggest looming wave came from Intel. The company confirmed that it will reduce headcount in its Intel Foundry division by 15% to 20%, beginning in July. With a total workforce of 108,900 employees as of December 2024, the cuts could amount to more than 16,000 to 21,000 jobs, making it one of the largest semiconductor layoffs in recent history. Intel also announced plans to wind down its auto business, underscoring its focus on core chipmaking and foundry services amid competitive and economic pressures.
Dating Apps Hit by Efficiency Push
June wasn’t kind to the online dating sector. Bumble, in an SEC filing, said it would cut 240 employees, or nearly 30% of its workforce. According to CNBC, the layoffs are expected to save $40 million annually, with funds redirected toward new product development and technologies. The steep reduction reflected both slowing user growth and the pressure on dating platforms to innovate in a crowded, AI-augmented marketplace.
Auto and Mobility Adjust to Market Realities
The EV sector also continued its adjustment to slowing demand and rising costs. Rivian, one of the high-profile electric vehicle startups, reduced headcount by 140 employees, or about 1% of its workforce. Most of the affected roles were in manufacturing, highlighting operational efficiency efforts as the company scales production but faces ongoing market pressures.
On the location-tech front, TomTom, the Amsterdam-based navigation and mapping firm, announced on June 30 that it would eliminate 300 jobs, or 10% of its workforce. The restructuring was focused on its sales and support divisions, as the company pivots to align its business more closely with AI-driven opportunities in the mapping space.
Gaming and Social Apps Trim Down
In the gaming industry, Playtika announced another round of job cuts of 90 employees, with 40 in Israel and 50 in Poland. This came only weeks after a smaller cut of 50 people, reflecting sustained cost-cutting pressure in a competitive global gaming market.
On the social and video side, Airtime, founded by Evernote’s Phil Libin, confirmed it had laid off 25 employees, nearly half of its 58-person team. The company, which launched in 2020, built tools like Airtime Creator and Airtime Camera for online video sharing, but the layoffs underscored how difficult it has been for smaller platforms to survive in a TikTok-dominated ecosystem.
Startups Face Brutal Reductions
Not all cuts in June were incremental. In Vancouver, Klue, a business intelligence software startup that helps sales professionals gather competitive insights, laid off 85 employees, which amounted to an alarming 40% of its workforce. The cutback underscored how even well-positioned AI startups are being forced to make hard calls as funding tightens and competition accelerates.
July 2025: Another Heavy Month
Total layoffs: 16,142 employees
If June hinted at the restructuring wave that AI would trigger, July made it undeniable. This month was dominated by mega-layoffs at Microsoft and Intel, sweeping job eliminations at Indeed and Glassdoor, and further cuts at startups and established tech firms alike. The recurring theme was unmistakable: companies are rebalancing their workforce in real time to prioritise AI efficiency, automation, and profitability.
Microsoft’s Largest Layoff of the Year
The biggest shock of July came from Microsoft, which announced it would cut 9,000 employees, a reduction of just under 4% of its global workforce. Unlike earlier layoffs this year, which were more targeted, this cut spread across teams, roles, and geographies.
This was the fourth major layoff round for Microsoft in 2025:
- January: less than 1% of its workforce was cut.
- May: more than 6,000 employees (about 3% globally).
- June: at least 300 workers.
- July: a sweeping 9,000 employees were eliminated.
The pace and scale demonstrate a company in rapid transition, shifting away from legacy functions and doubling down on AI, cloud, and high-growth areas while slimming down supporting divisions.
Intel Deepens the Blow in Oregon
July also brought staggering news from Intel, which had already announced smaller reductions in prior months. According to Bloomberg, the company now plans to cut nearly 2,400 workers in Oregon, which was almost five times more than what had been announced just a week earlier.
Last week, Intel had disclosed more than 500 job cuts in the state, equating to about 20% of its workforce there. The sudden escalation to 2,400 employees paints a stark picture of how quickly the company is moving to restructure. Combined with the larger 15–20% Foundry layoffs announced in June, Intel’s headcount reductions are shaping up to be among the most severe in the semiconductor industry this decade.
Recruitment Giants Reshape for an AI Era
The employment sector itself wasn’t immune. Indeed and Glassdoor, both owned by Japan’s Recruit Holdings, announced they would eliminate a combined 1,300 jobs. The reductions were part of a larger restructuring effort to merge their operations and centre strategy around AI-driven efficiencies.
The cuts will mostly affect U.S.-based staff, particularly in R&D, HR, and sustainability teams, according to CEO Hisayuki “Deko” Idekoba’s internal memo. For two companies built around helping others find jobs, the layoffs were both symbolic and sobering, reflecting how even recruitment platforms are consolidating and automating to survive.
Atlassian and the Efficiency Play
In Australia, Atlassian cut 150 roles in customer service and support, attributing the move to enhancements in its platform and tools that significantly reduced support demand. The decision was delivered via a prerecorded video from CEO Mike Cannon-Brookes, just hours before co-founder Scott Farquhar gave a national speech urging Australia to embrace the “AI revolution” and move away from “jobs of the past.”
Startups Under Strain
Several high-profile startups were also forced to recalibrate. Consensys, the blockchain software firm behind MetaMask, cut 47 employees, which accounts for around 7% of its workforce. The company stressed that the move was part of a profitability push following the acquisition of a smaller startup with about 30 staff. Importantly, Consensys also noted that it would continue hiring in selective areas, signalling that this wasn’t a freeze so much as a refocus.
Scale AI, a leading data-labelling firm, laid off 200 employees (about 14% of its workforce) and severed ties with 500 global contractors. The cuts came just weeks after Meta’s $14.3 billion deal involving Scale AI’s CEO, highlighting how shifts in partnerships and strategy were reverberating internally.
Eigen Labs, the Seattle-based research and engineering startup behind EigenCloud, laid off 29 employees, or 25% of its workforce. The cutback came weeks after raising $70 million in tokens from a16z Crypto, showing that even well-capitalised blockchain startups are not immune to restructuring when profitability comes under pressure.
Zeen, a 2019-founded social collaging platform for creators, shut down entirely. Despite raising $9 million in funding, the company was unable to overcome the brutal economics of growing a social media platform in a crowded, winner-takes-all market. Roughly all of its employees were let go in the closure.
Hardware and Global Tech Cuts
The hardware sector was not spared either. Lenovo confirmed plans to cut more than 100 U.S.-based full-time roles, about 3% of its American workforce. These included positions at its Morrisville, North Carolina campus. As of February 2024, Lenovo employed 5,100 workers in the U.S., meaning the July layoffs affected a relatively small slice but symbolised broader streamlining across the PC market.
Meanwhile, ByteDance, parent of TikTok, cut 65 employees from its Bellevue, Washington, office. The office had been a hub for TikTok’s online shopping arm, TikTok Shop, since the company’s U.S. expansion in 2021. The layoffs underscored ByteDance’s recalibration of its U.S. operations even as it faced heightened regulatory and political scrutiny.
August 2025: Ongoing Adjustments
Total layoffs: several hundred announced, with more expected
August didn’t reach the dizzying totals of earlier months, but it still added to the year’s sobering list with multiple companies announcing cuts that reflected broader strategic pivots.
Peloton continued its long string of layoffs, cutting another 6% of its workforce with its sixth round in just over a year. CEO Peter Stern described the move as essential for long-term health, but it was difficult to ignore the optics of a once high-flying pandemic-era star still struggling to find a stable footing.
Kaltura, the corporate video software firm, eliminated 70 roles, about 10% of its team. The decision was framed as a cost-saving measure that would reduce operating expenses by $8.5 million annually, though leadership stressed that sales and marketing investments would continue, especially in its AI-powered offerings.
Yotpo made one of the most significant cuts of the month, laying off 200 employees, 34% of its global workforce, while shutting down its email and SMS marketing business. The company announced it would instead partner with Attentive and Omnisend while investing heavily in AI-driven customer engagement products like automated review summaries and loyalty systems.
Windsurf, an AI coding startup acquired by Cognition, reduced its staff by 30 and offered buyouts to its remaining 200 workers. The layoffs followed a turbulent history that included failed acquisition talks with OpenAI and Google. Despite initial assurances that the acquisition was about “valuing people,” the cuts suggested that intellectual property had been the real prize.
Finally, Amazon’s Wondery trimmed 100 jobs while CEO Jen Sargent departed. The restructuring folded Wondery’s audio podcasts into Audible and reassigned video productions into a new Creator Services division. The move reflected Amazon’s broader shift in media strategy, balancing traditional audio with experimental video content.
Conclusion
The story of 2025’s layoffs is one of contrasts. While companies cut tens of thousands of jobs in the name of efficiency, they simultaneously poured billions into AI and automation. While investors applauded leaner operations, workers bore the brunt of the transition.
By August, more than 80,000 employees had already been displaced, with April and July standing out as landmark months of upheaval. And yet, the year is not over.
What 2025 has revealed most clearly is that the tech industry is undergoing a fundamental transformation. Layoffs are no longer temporary adjustments. They are structural shifts in how companies see the balance between people, technology, and profitability.
