A significant number of major corporations have announced substantial workforce reductions in the first months of 2026, explicitly citing the integration of artificial intelligence as a key rationale. This trend follows a March report from career transition firm Challenger, Gray, and Christmas, which found that AI has been cited in 8% of all job cut plans announced so far this year.
The moves have ignited debate over whether AI is genuinely replacing human roles or if some degree of "AI washing" is occurring, where companies blame the technology for layoffs that were otherwise planned. OpenAI CEO Sam Altman has suggested the latter, while a 2025 MIT study indicated that 95% of corporate AI investments have so far generated "zero return."
Software and Tech Firms Lead the Way
Australian-American software giant Atlassian announced cuts of 1,600 jobs in March, representing approximately 10% of its global workforce. In a filing with the US Securities and Exchange Commission, the company stated the reduction was part of a restructuring to focus on AI and enterprise growth. CEO Mike Cannon-Brookes told employees, "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. It does."
Similarly, logistics software maker Wisetech is cutting 2,000 jobs, or 30% of its staff. CEO Zubin Appoo stated on a February conference call that AI "enables greater productivity in less time and with fewer employees," declaring that "the era of manually writing code as the core act of engineering is over." He added that in areas like customer service, one in two workers will disappear.
Financial and Payments Sector Follows Suit
In February, Block CEO Jack Dorsey announced he was slashing nearly half of the payments company's workforce, reducing staff from over 10,000 to under 6,000. Dorsey said on X that "intelligence tools," paired with smaller teams, were enabling a "new way of working." He later stated in an earnings call that Block is ahead of a trend "all companies will eventually" adopt.
Crypto.com announced a 12% staff reduction on March 19. CEO Kris Marszalek wrote on X that the company was "joining the list of companies integrating enterprise-wide AI," and that impacted employees were in "roles that do not adapt in our new world." The cryptocurrency platform had previously cut jobs in 2022 and 2023.
Klarna CEO Sebastian Siemiatkowski stated in a podcast interview that the buy-now-pay-later firm's workforce has halved from 7,000 in 2022 to about 3,000 today, and he expects it to drop below 2,000 by 2030. He attributed this to layoffs and "natural attrition," though emphasised that jobs involving "human connection" would remain. A company spokesperson said its AI assistant handles work equivalent to 853 full-time agents, saving an estimated $58 million annually.
Traditional Tech and Services Companies Restructure
HP plans to cut between 4,000 and 6,000 jobs by the end of 2028 as part of a strategy that includes "artificial intelligence adoption and enablement," estimating the changes will save around $1 billion.
IBM CEO Arvind Krishna told The Wall Street Journal last year that the company had replaced hundreds of human resources employees with AI. More recently, IBM announced it would cut a "single-digit percentage" of its global workforce in Q4 2025, while shifting hiring priorities towards AI and quantum computing roles. Krishna has previously stated he could "easily see 30%" of back-office roles being replaced by AI over five years.
Salesforce cut fewer than 1,000 workers in February. CEO Marc Benioff said last August that using AI agents in customer support allowed him to reduce that division's headcount from 9,000 to about 5,000. A company spokesperson clarified this was part of a months-long transformation, adding that hundreds of employees were redeployed into other areas.
Contractor site Angi said in January it was cutting roughly 350 jobs, citing "AI-driven efficiency improvements" as part of the reason for optimising its organisational structure.
A Complex Outlook for Employment
Despite the layoffs, the relationship between AI and employment appears complex. A 2025 survey by Robert Half found that 29% of 2,000 hiring managers had reopened positions previously eliminated after implementing AI. IBM's Krishna has also noted that AI adoption has led to increased hiring in programming and sales.
The coming months will likely see more companies navigate this transition, balancing the pursuit of AI-driven efficiency with the strategic need for human skills in an evolving technological landscape.