Tech layoffs vs costly turnover

Tech companies are cutting thousands of jobs in 2026 even as they pay up to keep a smaller pool of hard-to-replace workers. (layoffs.fyi) (roberthalf.com) Layoffs.fyi’s live tracker showed 92,272 tech employees laid off across 98 companies as of April 23, 2026, up from the 81,272 figure cited by Mint on April 22. (layoffs.fyi) (article.wn.com) At the same time, Robert Half said 61% of technology leaders planned to increase permanent headcount in the first half of 2026, and 65% said finding skilled professionals was harder than a year earlier. (roberthalf.com) The split is showing up by role, not by industry label. Robert Half said demand is staying high for cybersecurity, cloud infrastructure and data engineering because those teams keep systems running, secure networks and support artificial intelligence projects. (roberthalf.com) CompTIA said net tech employment in the United States dipped about 0.3% in 2025 to 9.6 million workers, then projected a 1.9% rebound in 2026 to about 9.8 million. It also forecast roughly 128,000 additional tech jobs across the economy this year. (comptia.org) That means companies are still hiring in tech while shrinking parts of their payrolls. CompTIA said replacement demand alone averages about 323,000 workers a year as people retire or leave the field. (comptia.org) Federal labor projections point to the same imbalance. The Bureau of Labor Statistics expects about 129,200 openings a year for software developers, quality assurance analysts and testers, and about 16,000 openings a year for information security analysts over the 2024-34 decade. (bls.gov 1) (bls.gov 2) The cost of losing those workers can be steep. The Society for Human Resource Management offers a turnover-cost worksheet, and Gallup estimates cited by Fair360 put replacement costs at 50% to 200% of salary for most roles, with senior leadership costing more. (shrm.org) (fair360.com) Employers are responding with narrower hiring plans instead of broad expansion. Robert Half said tech staffing decisions in early 2026 were centered on “critical execution needs,” with companies using upskilling and contract talent to cover gaps in essential work. (roberthalf.com) So the 2026 tech labor market is not one market at all. It is a layoff market for roles companies think they can automate, consolidate or delay, and a retention market for workers tied to security, infrastructure and revenue-critical systems. (layoffs.fyi) (roberthalf.com) (comptia.org)