Top 10 biggest tech layoffs of 2026 eliminate over 76,000 jobs globally

Global tech companies have cut more than 76,000 workers in the 10 largest layoff announcements of 2026 as of July. AI is the most frequently cited reason for the restructuring, though some CEOs deny it. The cuts hit companies from Cloudflare to Meta, affecting workers across engineering, product management, and data science roles.

Why tech giants are cutting staff

Companies that spent five years racing to hire are now racing to cut, arguing that the AI systems they build can replace the engineers they hired. OpenAI CEO Sam Altman criticised this trend, calling it “AI washing” — dressing up financially motivated layoffs in the language of automation. Some companies on this list cut staff while reporting record revenue.

10. Cloudflare — 1,100 employees (20% of workforce)

On May 7, 2026, Cloudflare reduced its workforce by more than 1,100 employees globally, about 20% of its total. The cuts came despite quarterly revenue of $639.8 million, up 34% year-over-year. The company cited a strategic reorientation toward AI-native infrastructure.

9. Atlassian — 1,600 employees (10% of workforce)

Atlassian cut approximately 1,600 employees, 10% of its global workforce, on March 11, 2026. CEO Mike Cannon-Brookes said: “It would be disingenuous to pretend AI doesn’t change the mix of skills we need or the number of roles required in certain areas.” The freed capital will go toward AI development and enterprise sales.

8. Intuit — 3,000 employees (17% of workforce)

Intuit eliminated roughly 3,000 jobs, about 17% of its global workforce, on May 20, 2026. CEO Sasan Goodarzi told staff the cuts aimed to reduce complexity and improve execution, saying the decision had nothing to do with AI. Analysts still linked the restructuring to Intuit’s AI push. The 17% reduction ranked among the most aggressive single cuts by a major software firm in 2026.

7. Cisco — 4,000 employees (5% of workforce)

Cisco cut 4,000 employees, about 5% of its workforce, in May 2026. The company simultaneously reported record revenue of $15.8 billion in its fiscal third quarter, up 12% year-over-year. CFO Mark Patterson said: “This is more [about] realigning resources around silicon, optics, security and AI.” The cuts at a company in record financial health underlined how strategic realignment, not revenue pressure, drove the 2026 layoff wave.

6. Microsoft — 4,800 employees (approximately 2.1% of workforce)

Microsoft’s mid-year layoffs targeted approximately 4,800 roles, with the Xbox gaming division hit hardest. Xbox chief Asha Sharma confirmed 3,200 roles would be cut through fiscal year 2027, with 1,600 eliminated on July 6, 2026. Amy Coleman, Microsoft’s Executive Vice President and Chief People Officer, wrote in a memo: “The roles eliminated today are not being replaced by AI.” CFO Amy Hood noted total headcount had declined year-over-year and was expected to keep declining as the company focuses on AI infrastructure.

5. Block — more than 4,000 employees (40% of workforce)

Block, which owns Square, Cash App and Afterpay, cut more than 4,000 employees on February 26, 2026. That is approximately 40% of its global headcount, taking the company from over 10,000 workers to under 6,000. CEO Jack Dorsey said the decision was not driven by financial pressure, noting that business remains strong with growing gross profit and profitability. He argued that AI-powered tools are changing the structure of work inside companies.

4. Meta — 10,200 employees (across multiple waves in 2026)

Meta’s workforce reduction came in three documented waves. In January, the company cut approximately 1,000 to 1,500 employees from its Reality Labs division. Further waves brought the total to 10,200 in 2026. The cuts are part of Meta’s continued restructuring after its 2023 “year of efficiency.”

The three largest layoffs on this list — positions 3, 2 and 1 — were not detailed in the source, but the total of 76,000 jobs across the top 10 confirms the scale of the global tech layoff cycle in 2026.