The wave of tech layoffs is reshaping the IT workforce landscape as companies increasingly replace human workers with AI. Over 314,000 tech jobs have been eliminated since 2024, with corporate leaders under pressure to cut workforce costs by 20% while implementing AI solutions. This trend represents not just temporary cost-cutting but a fundamental restructuring of the digital labor economy, creating winners and losers in the rapidly evolving job market.
The big picture: Corporate boards are pushing CEOs to slash workforce costs by 20%, expecting AI to handle the eliminated positions while preparing for a possible recession.
- Camille Fetter, CEO at Talentfoot Executive Search & Staffing, reports that CEOs at industry dinners are being told, “If you don’t have plans to replace at least 20% of your workforce with these new technologies and efficiencies, then you’re not looking through the right lens.”
- This workforce reduction trend has accelerated in 2024-2025, with over 238,000 IT jobs lost in 2024 and another 76,000 eliminated so far in 2025.
Recent casualties: Major tech companies have announced significant layoffs in recent months despite their public embrace of AI.
- In May 2025, Microsoft cut 3% of its workforce (about 6,000 employees) shortly after CEO Satya Nadella noted that up to 30% of the company’s code is now written by AI.
- Walmart eliminated 1,500 positions, including members of its global tech team, while IBM reportedly laid off 8,000 employees, with many HR workers replaced by AI.
The shifting landscape: Companies are moving away from mass hiring toward more selective scaling and AI integration.
- Patrice Williams-Lindo, CEO of career coaching firm Career Nomad, observes that “companies are trimming legacy roles while quietly hiring for new AI-augmented positions,” creating a deeper reallocation of labor from operational maintenance to innovation.
- Mid-level IT support, QA testing, and certain software engineering jobs are increasingly vulnerable to automation.
- Williams-Lindo notes the irony that “the workers being cut are often the very ones who built” the systems now replacing them.
Skills in demand: The AI transformation is creating new opportunities amid the widespread job losses.
- Workers with “product intuition” and AI skills now command the highest salaries, indicating the value of hybrid skillsets, according to Sam Wright of job seeker site Huntr.co.
- “AI is creating a massive new demand for reskilled professionals who can train, manage, and govern these systems,” says Williams-Lindo, suggesting that those who develop AI fluency will thrive while others risk obsolescence.
Looking ahead: IT layoffs are expected to continue through 2026, with certain roles particularly vulnerable.
- Nic Adams, CEO at 0rcus, predicts that sysadmins, QA testers, back-office IT, and mid-tier management jobs face the highest risk of elimination.
- According to Adams, only “technical specialists tied to critical infrastructure, AI systems, or offensive security have real insulation from these cuts.”
Recent Stories
DOE fusion roadmap targets 2030s commercial deployment as AI drives $9B investment
The Department of Energy has released a new roadmap targeting commercial-scale fusion power deployment by the mid-2030s, though the plan lacks specific funding commitments and relies on scientific breakthroughs that have eluded researchers for decades. The strategy emphasizes public-private partnerships and positions AI as both a research tool and motivation for developing fusion energy to meet data centers' growing electricity demands. The big picture: The DOE's roadmap aims to "deliver the public infrastructure that supports the fusion private sector scale up in the 2030s," but acknowledges it cannot commit to specific funding levels and remains subject to Congressional appropriations. Why...
Oct 17, 2025Tying it all together: Credo’s purple cables power the $4B AI data center boom
Credo, a Silicon Valley semiconductor company specializing in data center cables and chips, has seen its stock price more than double this year to $143.61, following a 245% surge in 2024. The company's signature purple cables, which cost between $300-$500 each, have become essential infrastructure for AI data centers, positioning Credo to capitalize on the trillion-dollar AI infrastructure expansion as hyperscalers like Amazon, Microsoft, and Elon Musk's xAI rapidly build out massive computing facilities. What you should know: Credo's active electrical cables (AECs) are becoming indispensable for connecting the massive GPU clusters required for AI training and inference. The company...
Oct 17, 2025Vatican launches Latin American AI network for human development
The Vatican hosted a two-day conference bringing together 50 global experts to explore how artificial intelligence can advance peace, social justice, and human development. The event launched the Latin American AI Network for Integral Human Development and established principles for ethical AI governance that prioritize human dignity over technological advancement. What you should know: The Pontifical Academy of Social Sciences, the Vatican's research body for social issues, organized the "Digital Rerum Novarum" conference on October 16-17, combining academic research with practical AI applications. Participants included leading experts from MIT, Microsoft, Columbia University, the UN, and major European institutions. The conference...