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Just weeks after revealing a workforce reduction of more than 20,000 employees in fiscal 2026, Oracle is reportedly preparing another round of job cuts. The news suggests that the tech sector’s summer slowdown in layoffs may be short-lived.
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For many industry observers, the lull looks increasingly like a pause, not an end. TradingPlatforms has released а comprehensive report that tracks the tech companies laying off staff since the start of 2026.
To get a clearer picture of the scale of layoffs that have been sweeping through the global tech sector since the pandemic, the team at TradingPlatforms analysed data from multiple layoff tracking websites, including TrueUp and TechCrunch.
Largest workforce reductions so far in 2026
Researchers also checked multiple state WARN (Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification) filings and identified the companies behind the largest workforce reductions so far this year, highlighting the most heavily impacted regions and companies in the tech industry. The full list of tech companies with confirmed layoffs for 2026 is available on Google Drive via this link.
The team recorded 164,864 layoffs across the global tech sector in 2026 so far, based on companies’ reported job cuts and the headquarters location of each employer. At the current average pace of 736 layoffs per day, another 103,776 jobs could be lost before the end of the year, putting the full-year total at approximately 268,640.
Underlying pressure on tech workforces
The numbers suggest that mass layoffs have slowed compared with the earlier pace of the year, but the underlying pressure on tech workforces has hardly disappeared.
With companies continuing to restructure around AI, automation, and efficiency, and with September traditionally bringing a return to full business activity after the summer, there is a possibility that the recent lull could give way to another substantial round of cuts.
Key takeaways
- The research shows that at least 164,864 employees in the tech sector have already lost their jobs in 2026. That works out to an average of 736 layoffs every day between January 1 and August 12. If that pace continues for the remainder of the year, the total would climb to almost 269,000 layoffs, with another 103,776 positions potentially disappearing.
- The United States accounts for more than four in five tech layoffs globally. Companies headquartered in the U.S. have announced 133,853 job cuts, or 81.2% of the global total. Australian tech firms are responsible for 4,561 layoffs, while Israeli businesses for 4,434, and the Netherlands – for another 2,580.
- AI and automation are already directly linked to more than 91,000 job cuts. Our data identifies 91,275 layoffs attributed to AI or automation, representing roughly 55% of all tech layoffs recorded so far this year. Oracle alone accounts for 25,754 of these cuts, followed by Cognizant with 15,000 and Meta with 8,900.
Oracle accounts for biggest single source of tech job losses in 2026
- Oracle has become the biggest single source of tech job losses in 2026. The company is responsible for 25,754 layoffs, announced in several rounds of job cuts over the past seven months, but according to a recent Business Insider report, employees at the company should brace themselves for yet another blow. Oracle is reportedly preparing a significant reduction in payroll by the start of its second fiscal quarter on September 1, as it is pouring billions of dollars into AI infrastructure. Some publications speculate the upcoming round of layoffs may affect even more people than the previous one did – last time, Oracle axed 21,000 positions, with another 4,000 or so being let go after that. This means that by the end of the year, the tech giant may eliminate close to 50,000 jobs.
- The summer slowdown may be deceptive. At the current rate, the sector is averaging 736 layoffs a day, meaning that the pace has moderated compared with the earlier rate researchers tracked in the data – an average of 873 per day. But with 140 days still remaining in 2026, even this slower rate would translate into nearly 104,000 additional job losses, suggesting that the apparent summer respite may not mean the end of large-scale restructuring.
AI increasingly important part of the equation
‘We’ve found that nearly 165 thousand workers in the tech sector had been laid off globally by 13 August, but the pace of cuts has slowed considerably over the summer, with companies announcing fewer of the huge reductions seen earlier in the year. That does not necessarily mean the wave of layoffs is over: with Oracle reportedly considering another round of cuts after already reducing its workforce by around 25 thousand, there are signs that some companies may simply be entering another phase of restructuring.
Of course, AI is an increasingly important part of the equation, but it is not the whole story – companies are also consolidating teams, cutting costs, and redirecting investment towards areas they believe will deliver greater productivity. The more interesting question, therefore, is whether the quieter summer period is a genuine stabilisation or simply a pause before companies make larger workforce decisions in the autumn. If our current run rate holds, the data points to 268,640 tech layoffs by the end of 2026, although that figure could rise sharply if another round of mass cuts begins in September.’
– comments Stanislava Savisheva, analyst at TradingPlatforms.
These findings are based on layoff announcements, WARN filings, and independent reports since January 2026. For a deeper look at tech sector layoffs, the factors driving job reductions, and the full research methodology, please refer to the complete report.
