Tech layoffs have spiked by 40% year-on-year over the first quarter of 2026, according to new industry figures, with signs that the worst may still be ahead.

Focusing on US‑based firms, fresh data from employment analysts Challenger, Gray & Christmas reveals that tech firms announced 18,720 job cuts over March, for a total of 52,050 so far in 2026 – up from 37,097 in the same period last year.

Among those wielding the axe recently are Dell, cutting 11,000 employees so far this year, as well as Meta, which laid off 700 staff from its Reality Labs division in March, and Oracle, which this week notified thousands of workers they were being immediately let go as the firm moves to bolster its investments in AI.

Even Epic Games, the creator behind the monster hit Fortnite, admitted to facing a financial squeeze as a result of falling player engagement, resulting in 1,000 employees being out in the cold.

Last month, tech sector layoffs were ahead of those across every other sector, including transportation (32,241), healthcare (23,520), and finance (9,397), with AI the leading cause of job loss across every industry.

The report found that 25% of all cuts over March, amounting to 15,341 jobs lost, were tied to artificial intelligence, ahead of company or site shutdowns (13,931), restructuring (8,726), and unfavourable market and economic conditions (6,597).

In 2025, companies cited AI for 54,836 layoffs, accounting for 5% of total cuts for the year, a figure soon to be beaten – so far in 2026, AI has been cited for 12,304 job cut announcements, 8% of layoffs.  

Since 2023, when AI was first tracked as a reason for job cuts, it has been cited in 99,470 announcements, 3.5% of all layoff plans that occurred during that period, up from 3% in February.

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For the technology sector, the report predicts more layoffs are likely this year as companies continue with mammoth AI investments at the risk of falling behind competitors. 

That is especially true for functions like software engineering and development, with figures from Anthropic showing programmers are now the most exposed occupation to future layoffs, thanks to AI.

“Companies are shifting budgets toward AI investments at the expense of jobs,” said Andy Challenger, CRO for Challenger, Gray & Christmas.

“The actual replacing of roles can be seen in technology companies, where AI can replace coding functions. Other industries are testing the limits of this new technology, and while it can’t replace jobs completely, it is costing jobs.”