Employers increasingly name AI when they announce job cuts. This AI layoffs tracker follows two things: the monthly count of announced US job cuts where employers cited AI, from the outplacement firm Challenger, Gray & Christmas, and individual announcements where the employer itself linked cuts to AI.
Latest: In September 2026, US employers cited AI for 3,961 announced job cuts, about 9% of all cuts announced that month (Challenger, Gray & Christmas). So far in 2026, AI has been cited for 120,136 cuts.
Job cuts where US employers cited AI, by month
Job cuts citing AI 3,961
Show the data (latest 12 points per line)
| Series | Date | Value |
|---|---|---|
| Job cuts citing AI | October 2025 | 31,039 |
| Job cuts citing AI | November 2025 | 6,280 |
| Job cuts citing AI | December 2025 | 142 |
| Job cuts citing AI | January 2026 | 7,624 |
| Job cuts citing AI | February 2026 | 4,680 |
| Job cuts citing AI | March 2026 | 15,341 |
| Job cuts citing AI | April 2026 | 21,490 |
| Job cuts citing AI | May 2026 | 38,579 |
| Job cuts citing AI | June 2026 | 14,029 |
| Job cuts citing AI | July 2026 | 10,970 |
| Job cuts citing AI | August 2026 | 3,462 |
| Job cuts citing AI | September 2026 | 3,961 |
Announced US job cuts where the employer gave AI as a reason, as classified by Challenger, Gray & Christmas. Gaps are months where the report gave no AI figure. Some months are worked out from Challenger’s stated year-to-date totals.
An announcement is not a completed layoff, and a cut that names AI is not proof AI did the work. Challenger also counts a separate “technological update” reason, which is not included here.
Employer announcements
| Announced | Employer | Jobs | What they said | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| July 28, 2026 | VisaAI named as context | 2,600 | Visa cut nearly 7% of its workforce in an efficiency push, and its CEO said AI is helping reshape how work gets done.“AI is also helping to accelerate this evolution” (Ryan McInerney, CEO, Visa) | Source |
| July 23, 2026 | UberAI named as context | about 10% of the Community Operations (customer support) team; headcount not stated | Uber cut about a tenth of its customer support organization while reorganizing to make more use of AI and bring staff back to offices.“to simplify operations, strengthen in-person collaboration and continue to embrace AI” (Uber spokesperson) | Source |
| July 6, 2026 | MicrosoftAI named as context | 4,800 | Microsoft cut about 4,800 jobs, saying AI is changing how work is done while adding that the roles would not be replaced by AI.“AI is changing how work gets done.” (Amy Coleman, EVP and chief people officer, Microsoft) | Source |
| May 20, 2026 | IntuitAI named as context | 3,000 | Intuit cut about 17% of staff the same day it announced AI deals with Anthropic and OpenAI, but its CEO denied AI was the reason.“This was not about AI.” (Sasan Goodarzi, CEO, Intuit) | Source |
| May 19, 2026 | Standard CharteredAI named as a reason | 8,000 | Standard Chartered said it would cut thousands of back-office roles by 2030 as AI takes over the work; its CEO later apologized for his wording.“job role reductions in favor of the machines, and that will accelerate” (Bill Winters, group CEO, Standard Chartered) | Source |
| May 7, 2026 | CloudflareAI named as a reason | 1,100 | Cloudflare cut about a fifth of its staff despite record revenue, saying AI had changed which roles the company needs.“defining how a world-class, high-growth company operates and creates value in the agentic AI era” (Matthew Prince, CEO, and Michelle Zatlyn, president, Cloudflare) | Source |
| May 5, 2026 | CoinbaseAI named as a reason | about 14% of staff; CoinDesk estimates about 660 of 4,700 | Coinbase cut about 14% of staff, citing a down crypto market and AI letting small teams ship far faster.“engineers use AI to ship in days what used to take a team weeks” (Brian Armstrong, CEO, Coinbase) | Source |
| May 5, 2026 | PayPalAI named as a reason | about 20% of staff over two to three years; TechCrunch puts it above 4,500 | PayPal's new CEO said the company would shed about a fifth of its workforce over several years as it redesigns processes around AI.“changes that AI will enable us to do are … going to be very significant” (Enrique Lores, CEO, PayPal) | Source |
| April 23, 2026 | Meta PlatformsAI named as context | 8,000 | Meta said it would lay off about 10% of staff to run more efficiently and offset its heavy AI spending.“allow us to offset the other investments we're making” (Janelle Gale, chief people officer, Meta) | Source |
| April 15, 2026 | SnapAI named as a reason | 1,000 | Snap cut about 16% of its workforce, and its CEO said advances in AI let teams cut repetitive work.“rapid advancements in artificial intelligence enable our teams to reduce repetitive work” (Evan Spiegel, co-founder and CEO, Snap) | Source |
| March 31, 2026 | OracleAI named as a reason | not announced; headcount fell about 21,000 (13%) in the year to May 31, 2026 | Oracle began large layoffs in March without comment, and a later SEC filing described its 2026 restructuring as including the adoption of AI across functions.“including through the adoption and integration of artificial intelligence technologies across certain functions” (Oracle (Form 10-Q, quarter to Aug 31, 2026)) | Source |
| March 11, 2026 | AtlassianAI named as context | 1,600 | Atlassian cut about a tenth of its staff to fund AI and enterprise sales, and its CEO conceded that AI changes how many roles it needs.“It would be disingenuous to pretend AI doesn't change the mix of skills we need” (Mike Cannon-Brookes, co-founder and CEO, Atlassian) | Source |
| February 27, 2026 | BlockAI named as a reason | 4,000 | Block cut about 40% of its staff, and its CEO said AI tools let a much smaller team do more.“A significantly smaller team, using the tools we're building, can do more” (Jack Dorsey, CEO, Block)Later: Within weeks Block rehired a handful of laid-off workers, at least one told his layoff was a clerical error; there was no wider rehiring. Source | Source |
| February 10, 2026 | SalesforceAI named as context | about 1,000 roles reported; company gave no figure | Salesforce cut roughly 1,000 roles and said its Agentforce AI meant it had not needed to refill support engineer jobs.“Because of the benefits and efficiencies of Agentforce, we haven't had to backfill” (Salesforce spokesperson) | Source |
| February 9, 2026 | Baker McKenzieAI named as a reason | reported as 700+ business services staff, fewer than a tenth of staff; firm gave no figure | Law firm Baker McKenzie cut business services roles after a review of how it works, including its use of AI.“rethinking the ways in which we work, including through our use of AI” (Baker McKenzie (firm statement)) | Source |
| January 29, 2026 | DowAI named as a reason | 4,500 | Dow announced about 4,500 job cuts in a cost program that leans on AI and automation to raise productivity.“utilizing AI and automation to deliver step change in growth and productivity” (Dow (press release)) | Source |
| January 27, 2026 | PinterestAI named as context | under 15% of staff; TechCrunch estimates about 700 | Pinterest began cutting just under 15% of its workforce to move money and people into AI-focused roles and AI-powered products.“reallocating resources to AI-focused roles and teams that drive AI adoption and execution” (Pinterest (Form 8-K)) | Source |
| January 14, 2026 | CitigroupAI named as context | 1,000 | Citi cut about 1,000 more jobs under its long-running overhaul, and its CEO told staff that automation and AI would leave some roles no longer required.“automation, AI and further process simplification to reshape how work gets done” (Jane Fraser, CEO, Citigroup) | Source |
| November 26, 2025 | HP Inc.AI named as a reason | 4,000 to 6,000 by the end of fiscal 2028 (a range, so no single figure is given) | HP said it expects to cut 4,000 to 6,000 jobs by fiscal 2028 as part of a push to raise productivity through AI adoption.“to drive customer satisfaction, product innovation, and productivity through artificial intelligence adoption and enablement” (HP Inc. (company statement)) | Source |
| October 28, 2025 | AmazonAI named as context | 14,000 | Amazon cut about 14,000 corporate roles in a memo that cited AI as the reason to run leaner with fewer layers, though its CEO later said the cuts were about culture.“This generation of AI is the most transformative technology we've seen since the Internet” (Beth Galetti, SVP of People Experience and Technology)Later: on the third-quarter earnings call CEO Andy Jassy said the cuts were 'not even really AI-driven, not right now at least' but about culture. Source | Source |
| October 27, 2025 | CheggAI named as context | 388 | Chegg cut 388 jobs, blaming AI tools and falling Google referral traffic for a steep drop in its traffic and revenue.“new realities of AI and reduced traffic from Google to content publishers” (Chegg (company statement)) | Source |
| October 14, 2025 | Goldman SachsAI named as context | not stated; a 'limited reduction in roles' with constrained headcount growth, and a net headcount increase expected for 2025 | Goldman Sachs' leaders announced a limited reduction in roles and slower headcount growth as part of an AI-driven reorganization called OneGS 3.0.“To fully benefit from the promise of AI, we need greater speed and agility” (David Solomon (CEO), John Waldron (President) and Denis Coleman (CFO), staff memo) | Source |
| September 29, 2025 | Lufthansa GroupAI named as a reason | 4,000 | Lufthansa said it would cut 4,000 administrative jobs by 2030 through digitalization, automation and process consolidation as AI raises efficiency.“Reduction of 4,000 administrative jobs by 2030 through digitalization, automation, and process consolidation” (Lufthansa Group (company press release)) | Source |
| September 25, 2025 | AccentureAI named as a reason | no layoff count given; headcount fell from about 791,000 to 779,000 in the quarter (about 12,000) under an $865 million business optimization program | Accenture said it was exiting staff it could not reskill for AI-era work under an $865 million restructuring, while still expecting overall headcount to grow.“reskilling, based on our experience, is not a viable path for the skills we need” (Julie Sweet, CEO) | Source |
| September 15, 2025 | FiverrAI named as a reason | 250 | Fiverr cut about 250 staff to become an AI-first company, with its CEO saying AI meant it needed fewer people to run the existing business.“we don't need as many people to operate the existing business” (Micha Kaufman, CEO) | Source |
| August 29, 2025 | SalesforceAI named as a reason | 4,000 | Salesforce's CEO said AI agents let him cut support staff from about 9,000 to about 5,000, which the company described as not backfilling roles plus redeployment.“I've reduced it from 9,000 heads to about 5,000 because I need less heads” (Marc Benioff, CEO) | Source |
| July 29, 2025 | Commonwealth Bank of AustraliaAI named as a reason | 45 | Commonwealth Bank cut 45 call-center roles after introducing an AI voice bot to handle simple customer queries.“By automating simple queries, our teams can focus on more complex customer queries” (Commonwealth Bank (company statement))Later: On August 21, 2025, after the Finance Sector Union took a dispute to the Fair Work Commission, the bank called the cuts an error, said the roles were not redundant and apologized. Source | Source |
| July 24, 2025 | MicrosoftAI named as context | 9,000 | Microsoft's CEO addressed about 9,000 July job cuts in a memo that set them within the AI platform shift, without saying AI replaced the workers.“how we are structured and how we work together every day” (Satya Nadella, CEO) | Source |
| July 11, 2025 | Recruit Holdings (Indeed and Glassdoor)AI named as context | 1,300 | Recruit cut about 1,300 jobs at Indeed and Glassdoor and merged the two, with its CEO saying the business must adapt to AI.“AI is changing the world, and we must adapt” (Hisayuki Idekoba, CEO of Recruit Holdings) | Source |
| June 17, 2025 | AmazonAI named as a reason | forecast only; no cuts announced or numbered | Amazon's CEO told staff that efficiency gains from generative AI would reduce the company's total corporate workforce over the next few years.“we expect that this will reduce our total corporate workforce” (Andy Jassy, CEO) | Source |
| May 14, 2025 | KlarnaAI named as context | not layoffs: headcount fell from 5,527 (Dec 2022) to 3,422 (Dec 2024), about 40%, through a hiring freeze and natural attrition | Klarna's CEO said the company had shrunk by about 40% partly through AI, by freezing hiring and letting natural attrition run rather than by layoffs.“We're gonna shrink, so we're going to stop hiring.” (Sebastian Siemiatkowski, CEO) | Source |
| May 12, 2025 | CheggAI named as context | 248 | Chegg cut about 22% of staff as students moved to AI tools and, the company said, Google's AI Overviews kept search traffic from reaching its site. | Source |
| May 7, 2025 | CrowdStrikeAI named as context | 500 | CrowdStrike cut about 500 roles in a realignment toward its $10 billion ARR goal, with the CEO's letter describing AI as a force multiplier that slows hiring.“AI flattens our hiring curve” (George Kurtz, CEO) | Source |
| May 5, 2025 | IBMAI named as a reason | a few hundred HR roles ('several hundred'); exact number not stated; IBM says total employment rose | IBM's CEO told The Wall Street Journal that AI had taken over the work of several hundred HR staff, while total employment rose as money moved into engineering and sales hiring.“Our total employment has actually gone up” (Arvind Krishna, CEO) | Source |
| April 28, 2025 | DuolingoAI named as a reason | not stated; policy to phase out contractor work that AI can handle | Duolingo's CEO told staff the company would become AI-first and gradually stop using contractors for work that AI can do.“We'll gradually stop using contractors to do work that AI can handle” (Luis von Ahn, CEO)Later: on May 23, 2025 von Ahn wrote that he does not see AI replacing what employees do and that hiring continues at the same pace. Source | Source |
| February 5, 2025 | WorkdayAI named as context | 1,750 | Workday cut about 1,750 jobs in a restructuring its CEO tied to moving resources toward AI and platform development rather than to AI doing the work.“prioritizing innovation investments like AI and platform development” (Carl Eschenbach, CEO) | Source |
| July 10, 2024 | IntuitAI named as context | 1,800 | Intuit laid off about 1,800 staff while shifting investment toward AI and generative AI, but its CEO framed most exits as performance-related and said the cuts were not about cost.“We do not do layoffs to cut costs, and that remains true in this case.” (Sasan Goodarzi, CEO) | Source |
| February 27, 2024 | KlarnaAI named as a reason | not a layoff: the 700 figure is the work-equivalent of the AI assistant, and the release mentions no job cuts | Klarna said its OpenAI-powered customer-service assistant handled two-thirds of chats in its first month, doing the work of about 700 full-time agents.“It is doing the equivalent work of 700 full-time agents” (Klarna (company press release))Later: In May 2025 CEO Sebastian Siemiatkowski told Bloomberg that Klarna was recruiting human customer-service staff again because the cost-led AI approach had lowered quality. Source | Source |
| January 8, 2024 | DuolingoAI named as context | about 10% of contractors; Duolingo does not disclose how many contractors it uses; no full-time employees affected | Duolingo cut about a tenth of its contractors, saying it needed fewer people for some content work and that only part of the change was down to AI.“Part of that could be attributed to AI.” (Duolingo spokesperson) | Source |
What makes the list: the employer itself, a named executive speaking for it, or a regulatory filing links the cuts, or a planned reduction in headcount, to AI or automation. Journalists’ or analysts’ speculation alone does not count. “AI named as a reason” means the employer says AI or automation is why the jobs go; “AI named as context” means AI is mentioned alongside other reasons, or the employer later said AI was not the cause. Where an employer later reversed or clarified, the row says so.
What it means
- A reason given is not proof of cause. An announcement says what the employer chose to say. Some later said AI was not the main reason.
- Some cuts come through not replacing people. Salesforce, one of the largest, said it mostly stopped backfilling support roles and moved hundreds of staff to other work.
- Some employers have walked it back. Klarna began hiring human customer service staff again, and Commonwealth Bank of Australia reversed AI-linked cuts after a union dispute. Both are in the table with their sources.
Checked October 3, 2026. Tell us about an announcement we missed.
Related
Sources
- Challenger, Gray & Christmas, monthly job cuts reports. https://www.challengergray.com/blog/
- Each company announcement links to its own source in the table.