Tech companies cite AI as factor in 2026 workforce reductions

Oracle disclosed in a regulatory filing that its workforce declined by 21,000 employees over the past 12 months, a 13% reduction, with AI cited as a contributing factor. The company stated that the adoption and deployment of AI technologies have resulted, and may continue to result, in workforce reductions.

Meta laid off about 8,000 employees, roughly 10% of its workforce, while simultaneously moving about 7,000 employees into new AI-focused roles. CEO Mark Zuckerberg attributed the cuts to the competitive necessity of AI, stating that "success isn't a given" in the field.

Intuit announced plans to eliminate roughly 3,000 jobs, about 17% of its total workforce, as part of a restructuring centered on reducing complexity and reallocating resources toward AI. CEO Sasan Goodarzi framed the move as simplifying the company's structure to deliver better products.

GitLab laid off roughly 350 workers, about 14% of its staff, citing the need to fund AI infrastructure investment and handle surging traffic from AI workflows. CEO Bill Staples described agentic workloads as pushing competitors and noted a "generational rebuild" of core infrastructure to support what he termed 100x growth requirements.

Other companies, including Cisco, Cloudflare, Coinbase, and PayPal, also announced workforce reductions in 2026, with AI explicitly cited as a factor in restructuring efforts. Cisco cut nearly 4,000 jobs, Cloudflare reduced its workforce by about 20%, Coinbase eliminated 700 roles, and PayPal plans to cut more than 4,500 jobs over the next two to three years, all while emphasizing AI adoption as a central component of their strategies.