Is AI To Blame For Recent Big Tech Job Cuts?

Alan Cohen’s report counts that global tech layoffs at 90,471 between January and mid-June 2025. American companies account for 65,545 of those departures, which equals 72.5% of the total.

Japan takes second place after Panasonic confirmed a 4% staff trim that affects 10 000 workers. Sweden follows, where battery maker Northvolt let go of 3 000 employees after a cash squeeze.

Cohen projects that, if the pace keeps rolling, 235,871 tech jobs could disappear worldwide before the year closes. That would mean an average of 646 job losses every single day in 2025.

 

How Is Artificial Intelligence Speeding Up Job Losses?

 

Chegg is an example of this happening, because after investing heavily in an AI learning assistant built on GPT-4, the education platform cut 248 staff due to the fact that new code now handles tasks once done by people.

Amazon’s chief executive Andy Jassy told personnel that more than 1000 generative AI projects are already live across the group. He warned that new software agents will “change the way work is done” and will trim parts of the corporate headcount in the next few years.

Automation no longer stops at routine support desks. The same RationalFX study says that whole job families from data entry to basic coding are disappearing because machine learning tools complete them faster and at lower cost.

 

Why Are Profitable Giants Still Cutting Staff?

 

Microsoft posted revenue of $70.1 billion for the quarter ending 31 March 2025 and net income of $25.8 billion, an 18% year-on-year lift. Even with that cash flow, the company has axed 8 840 workers since January and is lining up another wave in sales once its fiscal year ends.

Meta reported a 16% rise in sales for the first quarter and net income of $16.64 billion. Just days later, it released 100 people from its Reality Labs unit, taking total 2025 redundancies at the firm to 3 720.

These firms pledge to invest for growth but also promise Wall Street that everyday spending will stay tight. Data centres, GPUs and fibre lines require billions so payroll becomes the lever that moves fastest when budgets tighten.

Investors appear comfortable with this trade-off. Meta’s share price rose 5% after its numbers. Microsoft keeps beating analyst forecasts even as it puts large sums into artificial intelligence hardware.

 

 

Which Jobs Disappear First And Which Could Appear?

 

RationalFX records show that posts replaced with code and robotics went earliest. Assembly, testing and basic customer support have already taken heavy hits.

Now even high grade talent feels the pressure. Microsoft’s May cuts reached product and engineering teams and took away an AI director, showing that even holding a senior position gives no guarantee of safety.

Hiring managers, meanwhile, ask for AI build skills when they screen candidates. Recruiters tell RationalFX that coding with large language models, data centric architecture and prompt writing now top their checklists.

Jassy told Amazon staff to “be curious about AI” and join workshops. He added that teams able to use the new tools will ship services quicker and win larger influence inside the company.

Retraining is gaining popularity but the speed of change leaves many workers stressing and moving.

Still, Jassy expects new posts to surface around agent design, safety and monitoring, areas where human judgment stays essential.

 

Could 2025 End With More Cuts?

 

California shows how far the pattern can go, with the state’s tech hub having logged 38,352 job losses this year, 58.5% of the United States total. Intel is at the top of the list with 21,780 departures followed by Meta at 3,720 and HP at 2000.

Washington comes next with 13,385 exits led again by Microsoft at 8,840. Texas, Massachusetts and other hotspots add thousands more.

Intel plans to cut about 20% of its payroll, up to 21,000 people, after a net loss of $821 million last quarter. Panasonic is already cutting 10,000 jobs to raise margins. STMicroelectronics wants to release 3,000 workers by 2027 though officials in Rome and Paris push to halve that number.

The RationalFX model shows another 145,500 departures before New Year’s Eve if current momentum holds.

At the same time Amazon is betting that AI agents will unlock “leaner teams” able to work faster than larger crews did in the past. Jassy’s memo makes plain that white collar staff will go down where code can do the big work.

Tech work is changing before our eyes, in real time. Earnings stay strong at many companies but payroll lines are being cut to fund AI projects. If automation keeps advancing at this rate, 2025 could close with an even higher total of lost jobs than forecast and with a very different map of careers to match.