Total tech layoffs from 2022 through 2025 exceed 700,000 workers. That is not a rounding error — it is a structural reset of an industry that spent a decade over-hiring on cheap capital.
Each year brought a different wave with a different driver. Understanding the distinction matters because the 2025 wave is unlike everything that came before it — and it is not going away.
Total Tech Layoffs 2022–2025: The Cumulative Data
| Year | Workers Laid Off | Companies | Primary Driver |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2022 | ~165,000 | 1,040+ | Rate hikes + pandemic demand correction |
| 2023 | ~262,000 | 1,190+ | Post-ZIRP headcount right-sizing |
| 2024 | ~152,000 | 640+ | AI restructuring + margin optimization |
| 2025 YTD | ~130,000+ | 500+ | AI-driven role elimination |
| Cumulative | 700,000+ | 3,370+ | Four-year structural reset |
Source: Layoffs.fyi, company announcements. 2025 YTD through May 2026.
Wave 1 (2022): The Rate Shock
The 2022 wave was abrupt and shocking precisely because it came after two years of unlimited hiring. The Fed raised rates 425 basis points in a single year — the fastest tightening cycle since Paul Volcker. Venture funding dropped 35% year-over-year. Startups that had raised on 2021 multiples were suddenly burning cash with no path to the next round.
Twitter / X
~6,000 (75% of staff)
Elon Musk acquisition-driven
Meta
~11,000 (13% of staff)
Metaverse pivot correction
Stripe
~1,120 (14% of staff)
Pre-IPO efficiency drive
Shopify
~1,000 (10% of staff)
Post-pandemic e-commerce normalization
Wave 2 (2023): The Largest Single Year on Record
2023 was the year the bill came due. Companies that had partially cut in 2022 came back for more. The biggest names did their largest rounds: Amazon announced 27,000 cuts across two tranches, Google cut 12,000 (6% of headcount), Microsoft cut 10,000, and Salesforce eliminated 8,000 roles. The total of 262,000 layoffs in a single year set a record that 2024 and 2025 have not approached.
~9% of corporate staff
~13% of staff (2nd round)
~6% of headcount
~5% of headcount
~10% of workforce
~5% of workforce
Wave 3 (2024): AI Restructuring Begins
The 2024 wave introduced a new dynamic that made it qualitatively different from prior cuts: companies were laying off in specific functions while simultaneously announcing AI investments. Intel cut 15,000 as it restructured around AI chip strategy. Cisco cut 4,000 and 6,000 in two tranches while pivoting to AI networking. Spotify cut 1,500 while announcing AI-generated podcast features. The pattern was unmistakable — AI was not just reducing costs, it was redirecting where capital and headcount went.
15,000
Intel cuts
Largest restructuring in company history
10,000
Cisco cuts (total)
Two tranches; AI pivot announced simultaneously
4,000
Apple cuts (services/retail)
Targeted, not headline-grabbing
Wave 4 (2025): The AI Replacement Wave
The 2025 wave is structurally different from every prior wave. It is not about macroeconomic correction or headcount right-sizing. It is about specific functions being eliminated because AI performs them at a fraction of the cost. Customer support, data annotation, content moderation, QA testing, and junior engineering roles are being eliminated at a faster pace than any prior restructuring. Companies like Klarna (replaced 700 customer support agents with AI), Duolingo (eliminated 10% of contractors using AI content tools), and UnitedHealth (automated prior-authorization workflows) represent the pattern.
The net employment effect is still negative in aggregate — AI is not yet creating jobs at the pace it is eliminating them in tech. But the mix is shifting: ML engineers, AI safety researchers, and AI product managers are in extreme demand even as headcount in adjacent functions falls.
Track real-time tech layoff data on the Layoffs Dashboard at Value Add VC.
What the Total Tech Layoffs Data Actually Tells Us
700,000 tech layoffs over four years sounds catastrophic. In context, it is a forced correction after an equally extreme hiring surge. From 2020 to 2022, the top 10 tech companies added roughly 500,000 net employees. The reversal is painful but arithmetically predictable.
What is Normalizing
- ✓ Revenue-per-employee metrics improving across Big Tech
- ✓ Operating margins recovering toward pre-2020 levels
- ✓ VC-backed company burn discipline higher than 2021
- ✓ Fewer companies hiring purely on growth optionality
What is Still Structural Risk
- ✕ AI-driven role elimination has no natural ceiling
- ✕ Mid-level roles are now under pressure, not just junior
- ✕ Remote-first hiring reversed — reducing talent pool access
- ✕ Startup hiring still highly selective at seed and A
The 2022–2023 waves were corrections. The 2024–2025 waves are transformations.
The next 700,000 tech job cuts will not look like the last ones — and they will not come back in the same form.
Track tech layoffs and hiring trends in real time on the Layoffs Dashboard and Hiring Tracker at Value Add VC. Originally published in the Trace Cohen newsletter.