The year started on a grim note for thousands of tech workers. By mid-January, CEO Mark Zuckerberg had signaled a major upheaval, announcing impending Meta layoffs in a bid to restructure and purge so-called “low performers.” This wave of layoffs in tech industry in 2025 seems unstoppable, as giants like Amazon and Microsoft have tightened their ranks too with performance-based jobs cuts.
So, why are tech companies laying off in such large numbers? The latest strategic move suggests an increased effort to bank in on the AI bandwagon. Companies like Amazon, Meta and Microsoft are reducing headcount in large numbers, while simultaneously recruiting for machine learning engineering roles, suggesting an aggressive approach to beat OpenAI in the coming years.
“It’s hard to comprehend after years of positive feedback,” one former Microsoft employee explained to The HR Digest. “I had no indication I was at risk.”
This shift follows a major shakedown in the tech industry in 2025. The most recent tech layoffs in 2025 and 2024 seem more to be a recalibration of the sector’s hiring philosophy. Rather than casting a wide net that attracts tech industry’s most talented workers, companies are now sharpening their focus on providing jobs in AI. As tech industry’s job cuts sweep through the workforce in 2025, roles in machine learning and engineering remain in high demand, signaling an aggressive approach towards precision-driven talent acquisition to build the next OpenAI competitor.
While 2025’s layoffs have been more measured, the same can’t be said for what tech industry faced the previous year. With advancements in AI and the relentless drive for optimization, tech giants have taken to layoffs as their go-to operational move.
Is 2025 the year of tech layoffs?
According to layoffs.fyi, which tracks layoffs in tech industry, 19 companies have laid off around 5,200 workers. What began as a ripple in 2022 turned into a wave of job cuts in tech industry, reaching its peak in early 2023 when 585 tech companies trimmed their workforce. Since then, the number of tech layoffs has subsided, but the aftershock remains brutal. By 2024, tech layoffs had eased, yet the numbers were shockingly high—542 companies cut 151,484 employees.
Unfortunately, this wave of jobs restructuring in tech has continued in 2025 across the industry.
Microsoft Announces Layoffs with no severance
Microsoft was one of the first tech giants to announce job cuts in 2025, targeting more than one division with a major impact on its security unit. The layoffs are performance-based, aimed at letting go of employees who did not meet the behemoth’s performance standards.
“It’s hard to comprehend after years of positive feedback,” one former employee explained to The HR Digest. “I had no indication I was at risk.”
To many it’s more than worrisome as Microsoft announced layoffs with no severance despite sitting on $80 billion cash.
Meta Layoffs 5% of Workforce
This Monday, Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg announced a fresh round of layoffs in 2025 affecting 5% of its total workforce in an effort to reduce costs and boost profits. You can read all about our coverage of Meta layoffs and its impact on employees here.
“I felt blindsided when I received the email,” one affected employee told The HR Digest. “I have a strong track record, and there’s been no sign of any performance concerns over the last six months.”
Stripe, Salesforce Layoffs in 2025
Fintech giant Stripe announced it will be laying off 300 employees, as uncovered in a leaked memo. The employees affected reportedly work in product, engineering and operations roles.
While Stripe says it plans to grow its headcount by 17% in 2025, the latest layoffs news comes just 3% after a 14% reduction in its workforce in 2022 due to Covid-19 overhiring.
The payment technology company created furor over inadvertently attaching a cartoon image of a yellow duck labeled “US-Non-California Duck” to termination emails.
At the beginning of February, Salesforce announced it would undertake its first round of mass layoffs since July 2024, laying off 1,000 employees. The company said it was a strategic move to let go of low performers and restructuring in order to focus on its AI initiative, Agentforce.
Amazon’s RTO Mandate – A layoff in disguise?
According to an internal memo leaked online, Amazon is planning to cut jobs in 2025 within its communication and sustainability divisions. Over the past three years, Amazon had laid off 27,000 employees to eliminate narrowly defined roles and redundant layers.
Some have questioned Amazon’s RTO mandates calling it a “backdoor layoff” strategy. The company’s return-to-office policy was announced in September, mandating employees work in person five days a week starting in 2025.
“Amazon uses RTO mandates to conceal indirect layoffs,” wrote X user @KaleidoKurt. “No bad press if people choose to quit because they don’t want to come back to the office.”
Amazon uses RTO mandates to conceal indirect layoffs. No bad press if people choose to quit because they don’t want to come back to the office.
— Kaleidoscope Kurt (@KaleidoKurt) January 30, 2025
Google’s Voluntary Exit Program
Instead of announcing direct layoffs in 2025, Google has introduced a voluntary exit program in its Platforms & Devices division—a segment responsible for key products in Android, Chrome, Pixel and Nest.
In an internal memo, senior vice president Rick Osterloh wrote that employees opting into the program would receive generous severance packages.
“I was shocked when the email came through,” said one affected Google employee to The HR Digest. “This was a tough pill to swallow.”
Many have questioned Google’s fairness of the process. “I felt like I was being pushed out for no reason,” another employee shared their disbelief in a private message.
We also learned that several workers had been told their roles were redundant, despite receiving high praise just months before.
Bigger job cuts, bigger questions
The recent wave of tech layoffs in 2025 gives a clear picture of what’s to come. Companies like Meta, Microsoft, Amazon, Salesforce, and Google are announcing job cuts, while simultaneously hiring in AI, machine learning, and automation, signaling a major shift. The roles that once defined tech behemoths are now being replaced with specialized, high-skill roles that could fuel the AI race to beat OpenAI.
For workers in tech, the message couldn’t get any clearer. Adaptability is no longer optional in tech industry. For now, the 2025 tech layoffs may feel brutal, but it could usher a new chapter, where success depends not just on experience, but also on being in sync with the latest trends.
Your story matters. If you’re a current or former Meta employee with information to share, The HR Digest wants to hear from you. Reach out to Pri Mistry via email.
