As we move towards 2026, the environment regarding work and employment is becoming increasingly uncomfortable. According to a report from Goldman Sachs, layoffs due to AI will continue into 2026, even though financial markets and investors are no longer rewarding companies for cutting employee costs. This report has come just a few days before celebrating the New Year. And while the report has some findings that might make workers around the world feel better, ultimately its conclusion is that AI is still on the hunt for jobs.

This will happen even if, according to Sachs, the global outlook for development is positive. Goldman Sachs believes there will be healthy growth globally, although the labor force and employees in different sectors are unlikely to benefit from it. Instead, the report says the current trend of using AI as a way to reduce employee costs through layoffs will continue.

Interestingly, the Sachs report notes that productivity gains from AI are still a few years away, at least 3 to 4 years away. But that’s not stopping companies from going for the reduced workforce currently.

An even more interesting aspect of the Sachs report is the impact of layoffs on company performance in the financial markets.

“Linking recent layoff announcements to earnings reports and stock market data, we find that the recent increase in layoff announcements has come primarily from companies that have attributed their layoffs to benign factors such as restructuring driven by automation and technological advancements,” Sachs analysts said in their report. “(But) equity markets have considered the recent layoff announcements as a negative signal about the prospects of these companies.”

layoffs in 2025

Meanwhile, looking ahead to 2025, job cuts were particularly severe as companies underwent massive restructuring and prioritized artificial intelligence over traditional, human-led operations. According to reports, more than 55,000 jobs were directly attributed to AI implementation in the United States alone during the year. Globally, the tech sector saw more than 122,000 layoffs by the end of the year as companies moved toward automation and efficiency.

Amazon was one of the big tech companies that laid off thousands of employees. The company implemented its largest-ever round of corporate layoffs in October 2025, cutting about 14,000 roles, about 4 percent of its corporate workforce, to finance its “biggest bet” on generative AI and streamlined management layers.

Similarly, Microsoft eliminated a total of 15,000 jobs during the year, including a major cut of 9,000 roles in July, as it moves toward an “AI-first” organizational structure and commits nearly $80 billion to AI infrastructure.

At Salesforce, CEO Marc Benioff confirmed in September 2025 that about 4,000 customer support roles were cut after AI systems began handling up to 50 percent of the company’s support workload. Other giants followed suit, with chip maker Intel announcing plans to cut 24,000 positions to restructure its business around AI chip manufacturing, while IBM replaced hundreds of HR roles with AI-powered chatbots.