Issue 02 / The AI Reallocation

132,280 people out.
Roughly $725 billion
spent on the machines that
replaced them.

The 2026 layoff cycle stopped pretending. Companies cutting workers this year are not rightsizing from a pandemic hangover, they are funding a buildout. Amazon, Microsoft, Alphabet, and Meta are projected to spend roughly three quarters of a trillion dollars on AI infrastructure in 2026, while collectively shedding more than 60,000 jobs across the same window. CFOs now say the quiet part on earnings calls. Layoffs are the financing.

What this issue tracks

50 layoff events at tech companies through May 22, 2026, cross-referenced with active job listings, BLS JOLTS macro data, and stated drivers from SEC filings and CEO communications. Companies are tagged by primary driver: AI restructuring, M&A integration, crypto downturn, or general macro pressure.

/ Is your role safe?
Search any role to see verdict, hiring demand, and layoff exposure
Try
Hot but BrutalML / AI Engineer
206
Open roles
19
Companies hiring
7
Layoff mentions

Strong hiring activity but the same titles appear in cuts. High-churn category. Bring leverage to negotiations and assume a 12-18 month tenure.

Sample employers hiring
AirbnbAnthropicBlockCloudflareCursorDatabricks+13
Where it sits
BLOODBATHHOTSLEEPYSAFEHIRING DEMAND →Other / UncategorizedSolutions / Sales EngineerSoftware Engineer (general)Technical Program ManagerAccount Executive / SalesCustomer SuccessData Scientist / AnalystLegal / ComplianceSecurity EngineerCustomer SupportRecruiting / TalentProduct ManagerBackend EngineerMarketingSDR / BDRFinance / AccountingOperations / Supply ChainUX / Product DesignerMobile EngineerDevOps / SRE / PlatformQA / Test EngineerData EngineerFrontend EngineerHR / People OpsHardware / ManufacturingYOU
01

The role scorecard

26role families · scroll to zoom · drag to pan
Layoff pressure vs hiring demand
Each role plotted by z-scored layoff pressure (Y) vs hiring demand (X). Bubble size reflects combined signal magnitude. Mouse wheel zooms, drag pans, double-click resets.
HMFEQAMOBSDRBEHRRTCSSECLCDSACSMDEVTPMOPSUPDDEFINPMSSEMKTMLAEOTHSWEBLOODBATHlow hiring · high cutsHOT & BRUTALhiring AND firingSLEEPYlow bothSAFE HARBORhigh hiring · low cutsHIRING DEMAND →LAYOFF PRESSURE →lowavghigh
100%
At-riskHot but high-churnSafe / in-demandLow signalBubble size = total signal
Key
SWESoftware Engineer (general)884 · 14
OTHOther / Uncategorized1,264 · 0
AEAccount Executive / Sales471 · 4
MLML / AI Engineer206 · 7
MKTMarketing194 · 7
SSESolutions / Sales Engineer366 · 0
PMProduct Manager162 · 4
FINFinance / Accounting128 · 3
DEData Engineer58 · 4
UPDUX / Product Designer70 · 3
OPSOperations / Supply Chain86 · 2
TPMTechnical Program Manager115 · 0
DEVDevOps / SRE / Platform51 · 2
CSMCustomer Success103 · 0
DSAData Scientist / Analyst97 · 0
LCLegal / Compliance78 · 0
SECSecurity Engineer70 · 0
CSCustomer Support54 · 0
RTRecruiting / Talent52 · 0
HRHR / People Ops19 · 1
BEBackend Engineer42 · 0
SDRSDR / BDR33 · 0
MOBMobile Engineer24 · 0
QAQA / Test Engineer17 · 0
FEFrontend Engineer8 · 0
HMHardware / Manufacturing5 · 0
Stats: open roles · layoff mentions
At Risk9 roles
Finance / Accounting, Operations / Supply Chain, UX / Product Designer, DevOps / SRE / Platform, QA / Test Engineer
High mention rate in layoff coverage, weak open-roles signal across the same dataset. The door is closing.
Hot but Brutal7 roles
Software Engineer (general), Account Executive / Sales, ML / AI Engineer, Product Manager
High open roles but the same titles appear in cuts. Read: high churn, not safety.
Safe Harbor10 roles
Other / Uncategorized, Solutions / Sales Engineer, Technical Program Manager, Customer Success
High hiring, zero or near-zero layoff mentions. Cleanest signal in the dataset is ML/AI engineering.
02

The long list

50layoff events · sortable · click company for source
All / 50AI capex / 0Restructure / 0M&A / 0Crypto / 0Macro / 0
132,280 people · 50 events
#Company IndustryDate Layoffs ↓% co. Driver
01Oracle OtherOther03.31.202630,000--
02Amazon RetailRetail01.28.202616,000--
03Amazon RetailRetail10.27.202514,0001%-
04Dell HardwareHardware03.16.202611,00010%-
05Meta ConsumerConsumer04.17.20268,00010%-
06PayPal FinanceFinance05.05.20264,76020%-
07Cisco InfrastructureInfrastructure05.13.20264,0005%-
08Block FinanceFinance02.26.20264,00040%-
09HP HardwareHardware11.25.20254,000--
10Intuit FinanceFinance05.20.20263,00017%-
11WiseTech LogisticsLogistics02.24.20262,00030%-
12Synopsys OtherOther11.12.20252,00010%-
13ASML HardwareHardware01.28.20261,700--
14Atlassian OtherOther03.11.20261,60010%-
15Ericsson OtherOther01.15.20261,600--
16Meta ConsumerConsumer01.13.20261,5002%-
17Applied Material ManufacturingManufacturing10.23.20251,4004%-
18Sama AIAI04.16.20261,108--
19Cloudflare SecuritySecurity05.07.20261,10020%-
20Snap ConsumerConsumer04.15.20261,00016%-
21Epic Games ConsumerConsumer03.24.20261,000--
22Ocado FoodFood02.26.20261,0005%-
23Livspace ConsumerConsumer02.20.20261,00012%-
24Autodesk OtherOther01.22.20261,0007%-
25UKG HRHR04.15.2026950--
26LinkedIn RecruitingRecruiting05.13.20268755%-
27eBay RetailRetail02.26.20268006%-
28Bill.com FinanceFinance05.07.202670930%-
29Coinbase CryptoCrypto05.05.202670014%-
30Meta ConsumerConsumer03.25.20267001%-
31Pinterest ConsumerConsumer01.27.202670015%-
32Sapiens FinanceFinance12.28.202570015%-
33Playtika ConsumerConsumer11.17.202570020%-
34ZoomInfo SalesSales05.10.202660020%-
35Rivian TransportationTransportation10.23.20256004%-
36Meta ConsumerConsumer10.22.2025600--
37Freshworks SupportSupport05.05.202650011%-
38Flipkart RetailRetail03.06.2026500--
39Cyberark SecuritySecurity02.17.202650012%-
40Playtika ConsumerConsumer01.14.202650015%-
Showing 40 of 50 events. Load more →
03

The real story

From CFO commentary · Q1 2026 earnings calls
“

Tech is shedding workers at 2.0xthe rate of the broader economy. The cuts aren't austerity. Meta's projected 2026 AI capex is five timesits entire human payroll. Layoffs aren't cost-cutting anymore. Layoffs are the financing.

BLS JOLTS · Meta Q1 2026 earnings · SEC filings
04

Macro context

BLS JOLTS · latest release
IndustryHiresQuitsLayoffsOpenings12mo trend
Informationtech / software / telecom
3.4
vs 2.7 yr-ago
1.1
vs 1.4 yr-ago
2.4
vs 1.3 yr-ago
2.8
vs 3.9 yr-ago
Total nonfarmwhole economy baseline
3.5
vs 3.4 yr-ago
2.0
vs 2.2 yr-ago
1.2
vs 1.0 yr-ago
4.1
vs 4.2 yr-ago
Financial activitiesbanking / insurance
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
Manufacturingdurable + nondurable
2.5
vs 2.4 yr-ago
1.4
vs 1.5 yr-ago
0.7
vs 0.8 yr-ago
3.5
vs 3.0 yr-ago