Big Tech Layoffs, Mixed Hiring
Multiple large tech firms have announced heavy job cuts this quarter while some organisations continue to hire at scale, producing a mixed labour picture for engineers. Reports cite thousands of layoffs across firms — one article aggregates roughly 78,000 tech job cuts with 48% attributed to AI/automation — even as companies like TCS announced offers for 25,000 fresh graduates for FY2026-27. (calcalistech.com) (marketingedge.com.ng) (trak.in)
Tech companies cut tens of thousands of jobs in early 2026 even as some employers kept recruiting engineers and new graduates at scale. (finance.yahoo.com) A Yahoo Finance report citing Nikkei Asia said 78,557 tech workers were laid off from January 1 to April 2026, and 37,638 of those cuts, or about 48%, were tied to artificial intelligence or automation. The same report said 76.7% of the affected jobs were in the United States. (finance.yahoo.com) The cuts were spread across household names. NDTV Profit reported Oracle cut 30,000 jobs, Amazon cut 16,000, Block cut 4,000, and Meta cut 3,600 in 2026 as companies pushed restructurings and more artificial intelligence spending. (ndtvprofit.com) Hiring did not stop everywhere. Tata Consultancy Services said on April 9 that it had made 25,000 offers to fresh graduates for the 2026-27 financial year, while Chief Executive Officer K Krithivasan said additional campus hiring would depend on demand. (tcs.com) (livemint.com) Tata Consultancy Services also reported annual contract value of $40.7 billion for fiscal 2026 and said annualized artificial intelligence revenue crossed $2.3 billion in the fourth quarter. The company’s net headcount increased by 2,356 in the quarter ended March 31, 2026. (tcs.com) (financialexpress.com) That split reflects two different labor markets inside tech. Product companies have been cutting corporate and support roles while redirecting money into data centers, chips, and artificial intelligence tools, while large services firms still need junior staff for client work and long-term training pipelines. (forbes.com) (tcs.com) The argument over what is driving the layoffs is still unsettled. Yahoo Finance said some experts blamed artificial intelligence less than executives did, arguing that weak bets, overhiring, and broader restructuring were also behind the cuts. (finance.yahoo.com) Tata Consultancy Services pushed back directly on the idea that artificial intelligence is replacing its workforce. Reporting on the company’s earnings call said Krithivasan described artificial intelligence as a productivity aid and said demand conditions, not automation alone, would determine future hiring. (businesstoday.in) (alphastreet.com) For engineers, the result is a market with fewer openings in some white-collar tech teams and steady intake in other corners of the industry. The next signal will come from second-quarter earnings, when companies will have to show whether their artificial intelligence spending is creating revenue fast enough to offset the jobs they already cut. (finance.yahoo.com) (tcs.com)
