The Crunchbase Tech Layoffs Tracker

Crunchbase News keeps a continuously updated tally of mass job cuts at U.S.-based technology companies. For 2025 that tally passed 127,000 workers, and the cuts did not stop at year end. The tracker adds new companies week by week as reductions become public.

Because the count focuses on U.S.-based employers, the figures show domestic layoffs rather than full global headcount changes. For firms with large overseas operations, the numbers reflect only part of their worldwide cuts. That scope matters when comparing one company to another.

The two main forces behind the cuts were ongoing economic pressure and the fast adoption of AI. As companies poured money into AI development and automation, they shifted hiring budgets and resources away from other teams. The result was reductions in one division funding expansion in another.

Outside reporting frames the same period as a capital trade-off. The largest cloud companies planned roughly $725 billion in AI spending for 2026 while reducing staff, a sign that payroll was being reallocated toward AI infrastructure rather than simply eliminated to save money.

The tracker signals that hiring discipline across technology has held firm even as some firms report strong revenue. Layoffs in 2025 and 2026 hit profitable companies, not only struggling ones, which suggests these were planned restructurings tied to strategy rather than survival.

For business owners watching the sector, the reallocation of payroll toward AI work is the key takeaway. When a company cuts one team and invests in automation elsewhere, the headline number tells only half the story. Reading the tracker alongside each company's AI spending gives a fuller picture of where the money is moving.