Tech layoffs and buyouts widen

Microsoft is offering its first voluntary buyouts to thousands of U.S. employees, widening a 2026 pullback in white-collar jobs as companies keep spending on artificial intelligence. (cnbc.com) The program applies to U.S. workers at senior director level and below whose age plus years of service add up to 70 or more, and CNBC reported it could cover about 7% of Microsoft’s U.S. workforce. Computerworld said that works out to roughly 8,750 people. (cnbc.com) (computerworld.com) Meta told employees on April 23 that it plans to cut 10% of its workforce, or about 8,000 jobs, starting May 20, and to stop hiring for 6,000 open roles. CNBC said the company is shifting more resources into artificial intelligence. (cnbc.com) Nike announced 1,400 layoffs on April 23, mostly in technology and global operations, after cutting 775 jobs in January. Snap said on April 15 that it would cut about 1,000 employees, or 16% of staff, and close more than 300 open roles. (cnbc.com) (techcrunch.com) The pattern is not a factory slowdown or a retail slump alone. In each case, companies tied the cuts to reorganizing office work, software work, or management layers while protecting or expanding spending tied to artificial intelligence. (cnbc.com 1) (cnbc.com 2) (techcrunch.com) (cnbc.com) Microsoft has been pouring money into data centers and AI infrastructure, and CNBC said the buyout comes as the company looks for ways to control costs ahead of earnings. Meta’s memo paired layoffs with a deeper push into AI tools and AI-assisted work. (cnbc.com 1) (cnbc.com 2) Snap made the link most directly. TechCrunch reported that Chief Executive Evan Spiegel told staff advances in AI were letting the company operate with smaller teams, while USA Today reported Snap said AI now generates 65% of its new code. (techcrunch.com) (usatoday.com) The cuts are landing at companies of very different sizes. Meta said it had 78,865 employees at the end of 2025, while Microsoft said it had 228,000 employees worldwide in its 2025 annual report, making even single-digit percentage cuts large in absolute numbers. (sec.gov) (microsoft.com) For workers, the message from this month’s announcements is narrower than “tech is shrinking.” The hiring freeze, buyout offers and targeted layoffs point to companies keeping AI budgets intact while trimming other salaried roles. (cnbc.com 1) (cnbc.com 2) (cnbc.com 3) (techcrunch.com)