India records 45,800 layoffs
- Layoffs.fyi data show tech companies announced 45,800 job cuts in March 2026 worldwide, making it the heaviest month for reported sector layoffs in two years. - The tracker counted 92,272 tech employees laid off across 98 companies by April 28, with Oracle, Atlassian and Snap among March’s biggest cuts. - Companies are redirecting cash to AI chips, cloud capacity and data centres, squeezing payroll budgets. (layoffs.fyi)
Tech companies announced 45,800 layoffs worldwide in March 2026, the highest monthly total reported by Layoffs.fyi in at least two years. (layoffs.fyi) (indiatoday.in) By April 28, Layoffs.fyi said 92,272 tech employees had lost jobs across 98 companies in 2026. NDTV Profit, citing the tracker, said March alone accounted for nearly half that total. (layoffs.fyi) (ndtvprofit.com) Oracle led March’s cuts, with reports of about 30,000 layoffs globally and roughly 12,000 in India. India Today said affected Oracle staff in India received termination emails on March 31. (indiatoday.in 1) (indiatoday.in 2) Atlassian said on March 11 it would cut about 1,600 employees, or roughly 10% of its workforce, to fund artificial intelligence and enterprise sales. Snap also cut about 1,000 roles in April, citing rapid advances in AI. (reuters.com) (techrepublic.com) The cuts are landing as the biggest tech groups spend heavily on computing power instead of headcount. India Today reported Alphabet, Meta, Amazon and Microsoft are together expected to spend $674 billion on capital expenditure this year. (indiatoday.in) That spending is aimed at the machinery behind artificial intelligence: chips, cloud servers and new data centres. Companies are treating payroll as one of the few large costs they can cut quickly while they fund that buildout. (ndtvprofit.com) (indiatoday.in) Some companies are still framing the moves as restructuring rather than distress. Block Chief Executive Jack Dorsey said, “We’re not making this decision because we’re in trouble,” in remarks quoted by India Today. (indiatoday.in) The layoffs are not over. Reuters reported on April 17 that Meta plans a first wave of about 8,000 job cuts on May 20, with more reductions expected later in 2026. (reuters.com) Microsoft is also thinning staff through a voluntary retirement program available to as much as 7% of its U.S. workforce. CNBC reported the offer targets eligible employees whose age and years at the company add up to 70 or more. (cnbc.com) March’s 45,800 layoffs do not describe India alone; they capture a global tech labor market being reshaped by an artificial intelligence spending race. The next test is whether the second quarter brings another month like March. (layoffs.fyi) (indiatoday.in)
