The tech industry, once booming with seemingly endless opportunities, is now facing a wave of layoffs, even in the high-growth area of Artificial Intelligence (AI). Major IT companies, including Meta, Amazon, and Google, have recently announced job cuts impacting AI-related roles, signaling a potential shift in strategy after years of aggressive hiring and investment in the sector.
Meta, the parent company of Facebook and Instagram, is reportedly cutting around 600 jobs within its AI unit, Superintelligence Labs. These layoffs will affect the Facebook Artificial Intelligence Research unit, along with teams focused on product-related AI and AI infrastructure. However, Meta's newly formed TBD Lab, which houses many recent, highly-paid AI hires, will not be affected. The company is encouraging impacted employees to apply for other positions within Meta and plans to continue hiring for AI teams. According to Chief AI Officer Alexandr Wang, the cuts aim to create smaller, more efficient teams that can move more quickly in the competitive AI landscape. Some sources suggest the AI unit had become "bloated," with teams vying for computing resources. Despite the layoffs, Meta is still investing heavily in AI, including a $14.3 billion investment in Scale AI, which led to Wang joining Meta.
Amazon is also making significant workforce reductions, with reports indicating a plan to cut up to 15% of its Human Resources staff, a division known internally as the People eXperience and Technology (PXT) team. This restructuring is driven by the company's increased focus on AI and automation. Amazon has already cut at least 27,000 corporate jobs since late 2022. CEO Andy Jassy has stated that AI will reduce the company's corporate headcount in the coming years as generative AI and autonomous agents automate tasks and diminish the need for some roles. While AI will create new roles, the net effect will be a leaner corporate staff. Leaked documents suggest that Amazon may replace as many as 600,000 U.S. jobs with robots by 2027 as part of a $12.6 billion automation drive. Warehouse roles are expected to be the most impacted.
Google has also been affected by the industry-wide trend. More than 200 contractors working on Google's AI products, including Gemini and AI Overviews, were laid off last month. These contractors, employed through GlobalLogic, an outsourcing firm, were responsible for evaluating and refining AI-generated responses. Some of these workers held advanced degrees and claim they faced low pay, job insecurity, and pressure to meet strict performance targets. There are allegations that the layoffs were connected to worker organizing efforts, including attempts to unionize. In addition, Google has reportedly laid off over 100 employees from its cloud unit and another 50 from various locations in Sunnyvale, California. The company also cut over 100 staff from design-related teams, including those in cloud research and user experience roles. These cuts are part of a broader shift as Google ramps up investment in artificial intelligence infrastructure.
These layoffs across major tech companies suggest a recalibration of AI strategies. Some analysts believe that companies are moving away from simply hoarding AI talent to focusing on specific, high-impact roles. Others suggest that AI is being used as an excuse to cut costs and improve efficiency. It's also been suggested that Big Tech companies aren't hiring AI engineers, but buying them. The tech sector has already seen significant job losses in recent years. In 2024, more than 150,000 tech jobs were eliminated across 549 organizations. The trend has continued into 2025, with over 26,000 jobs lost in the first few months of the year. Layoffs are being driven by factors such as a slowdown in consumer demand, rising operational costs, and a shift in corporate strategies. As AI continues to evolve and reshape the industry, further workforce adjustments are expected.
