2025 started as yet another boom year for AI, marked by a spate of announcements about agentic AI and new coding tools. Yet, behind the flashy headlines about models, chips, and venture deals, a less glamorous, quieter—and at times not-so-quiet—story has been unfolding: mass layoffs.
Across the board, Big Tech firms, AI-first startups and Indian IT giants alike have been trimming their workforces, citing automation, AI strategy changes and cost-rationalisation. Below is a detailed rundown of the major job cuts announced this year, the companies involved, the numbers and their stated reasons.
Scale AI – July
Data-labelling startup, Scale AI, cut about 14% of its workforce (≈200 full-time staff as well as 500 contractors) in July. The CEO, Jason Droege, said the firm had “ramped up GenAI capacity too quickly” and that this was part of a “broader restructuring” of its generative AI business to streamline operations.
Google LLC (Cloud Division) – October
Google, in October, eliminated over 100 positions within its Cloud unit, mostly UX/design teams, including UX research and platform UX roles. The company said the reorganisation was to “help the company move faster and be more efficient” as it shifts resources towards AI infrastructure.
Google also laid off 200 employees from its global business organisation in April, which handles sales and partnerships. The company cut hundreds of roles in its Platforms and Devices unit, responsible for Android, Pixel and Chrome operations.
Microsoft – May-July
Microsoft announced layoffs totalling about 15,000 jobs (≈6,000 in May and ≈9,000 in July) across engineering, product, sales and gaming divisions. The official reason: flattening organisational structure, reducing management layers and aligning with changing business needs—even as Microsoft invests heavily in AI infrastructure.
Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella, in a memo on July 24, said the layoff of 15,000 people over the course of the last 12 months has been “weighing heavily” on him.
Amazon (AWS) – July
Earlier in July, Amazon disclosed cuts of “hundreds” of roles across AWS, including Training & Certification. The company labelled it an “effort to optimise resources” amid a strategic review of AWS operations, instead of a formal hiring freeze or programme shutdown.
According to a Fortune report, Amazon is also preparing to cut as much as 15% of its human resources staff in October, with additional layoffs likely in other divisions.
Meta Platforms – October
Meta announced about 600 job cuts in its AI research organisation, Superintelligence Labs, this month. An internal memo said the move was meant to “speed up decision-making” by having fewer people take on broader responsibilities. Meta described it as an efficiency-driven reorganisation even while continuing new AI investments.
Previously, Meta let go of 3,600 employees—about 5% of its workforce in February—focusing on performance-based cuts and internal restructuring.
Salesforce – September
Salesforce eliminated roughly 4,000 customer-support positions last month. CEO Marc Benioff said this was due to the rollout of its AI-powered support platform, Agentforce, which automated about half of support queries. The firm framed the cuts as a benefit of its AI investment: fewer support agents needed, existing employees redeployed.
Intel Corporation – Year-Round
Intel’s CEO announced plans for a global workforce reduction of 15-24% (≈21,000-25,000 jobs), including 15-20% cuts in its Foundry Services division to accelerate AI-chip manufacturing. The company cited the need to “focus on AI chip production and factory streamlining”.
Tata Consultancy Services – July
Tata Consultancy Services (TCS) announced plans to cut about 12,000 jobs (≈2% of its workforce) in July, largely involving mid and senior-level employees in delivery and management. The official reason was cited as “skill mismatches”, noting that certain roles could not be redeployed. The move was part of a larger reorganisation to become “future-ready”, with increased investment in AI and new services.
Tech Mahindra – Year-Round
Tech Mahindra trimmed about 10,669 positions, plus additional departures in late FY25. The job cuts largely affected mid-career IT staff. The management described it as “portfolio rebalancing” in a challenging market. Analysts link the layoffs to the firm’s shift toward AI, cloud and automation. Many affected employees apparently failed to reskill into the new AI-driven delivery model.
Oracle (India) – September
Oracle India cut 100+ jobs, mostly in its Cloud and support teams last month. The layoffs were described as “organisational changes”, owing to the need to “streamline operations”. Internal sources cited a “technological shift” towards AI as many long-tenured staff were made redundant. The cuts in India were tied to global layoffs of over 3,000 as the company reallocated talent into AI-cloud initiatives.
Accenture – August (Q2 results)
Accenture’s global headcount fell by about 11,000-12,000 in the previous quarter, including substantial cuts in India. The firm said the reductions were due to “aligning its talent to client demand” and “shifting to AI and digital”.
CEO Julie Sweet cited slowing client demand along with rapid AI adoption as key drivers. The company is retraining many employees for new AI skills and exiting roles where work has been automated.
IBM (India) – Year-Round
IBM India cut about 1,000 jobs, primarily ones in IT consulting and support staff divisions. The company said the eliminations were due to changing client demands and the “rationalisation” of roles now handled by IBM’s own cloud/AI solutions. IBM also automated hundreds of HR/finance positions globally using AI tools, though exact India numbers were not disclosed.
The post Biggest AI Layoffs of 2025 appeared first on Analytics India Magazine.
