Microsoft, Google, Amazon and more: Tech giants continue to layoff, over 1 lakh jobs slashed

Major tech companies like Microsoft, Intel, Google, and Amazon are continuing to lay off thousands of employees in 2025. Factors like economic challenges, AI-driven restructuring, and changing business priorities are driving widespread job cuts.

With almost 100,000 jobs lost worldwide in 2025, it looks like the tech industry will have yet another terrible year. As they struggle with economic challenges, restructuring initiatives, and changing objectives in the AI era, major tech firms like Google, Intel, and Meta are continuing to reduce their workforces. 

With 9,100 workers expected to lose their jobs, mostly in the Xbox and game divisions, Microsoft is the most recent company to announce layoffs. Let's examine some of the most significant IT layoffs that have been reported thus far in 2025.

Microsoft has let off 9,100 workers, or over 4% of its workforce, in one of its biggest layoffs this year. Its Xbox and game industries were particularly heavily impacted by the cutbacks. Phil Spencer, the president of Xbox, stated that the business is "ending or decreasing work in certain areas" in order to concentrate on strategic expansion. 

Additionally, according to Bloomberg, King, the studio that made Candy Crush, plans to eliminate around 200 positions.

More than 6,000 Microsoft employees have already been let go this year, after the company reduced 305 roles in June and made performance-based layoffs earlier. 

These terminations included instant system access revocation and no continuation of healthcare, according to a Business Insider investigation. Additionally, some workers said they were not paid for their severance.

Under its new CEO, Lip-Bu Tan, Intel is likewise going through a significant reorganisation. Its Santa Clara headquarters will lay off 107 workers in July. Additionally, the business is firing almost all of its employees at its German automotive chip division.

In mid-July, further layoffs are anticipated, which may impact 20% of Intel's global workforce. These include top engineers engaged in leadership positions as well as chip design and cloud architecture. According to internal memoranda, its employees who manufacture chips would be the most affected.

According to reports, IBM has laid off some 8,000 workers, with the majority of these layoffs purportedly occurring in the company's human resources division. The action comes after an internal trend towards automation, where AI is now performing a large number of activities that were formerly performed by humans.

According to reports, IBM replaced 200 HR positions earlier this month with AI systems that could do standard tasks like organising data, handling internal paperwork, and answering employee enquiries. These devices are designed to replace tedious tasks that don't call for human judgement. The impact on jobs seems to be increasing quickly as IBM uses AI more and more.

Last month, Amazon said that it is laying off employees in its books section, which is where it all started. Employees from both the Kindle and Goodreads teams will be affected by the layoffs.

Although fewer than 100 employees were impacted, the tech giant's action is a part of a much larger pattern of phased layoffs. Amazon has eliminated positions in a number of departments, including its communications division, Wondery podcast division, and devices and services division.

Another big company that has eliminated positions is Google. In its Platforms and Devices division, which is in charge of Android, Pixel, and Chrome, hundreds of positions have been cut. This comes after a series of layoffs that occurred earlier this year in its HR and Cloud departments.

These adjustments are a part of a larger initiative to simplify operations following team mergers, a Google representative told The Information. Additionally, the business has promoted a more flexible structure across all product categories and provided voluntary leave programs.

Infosys has reportedly let go of 240 entry-level employees after they were unable to clear the company’s internal assessments. In recent months, there have been two layoffs of this kind. More than 300 freshmen were fired under identical conditions back in February 2025. 

Those affected by the most recent round were employed as Digital Specialist Engineers (DSE) and System Engineers (SE). After receiving their offer letters during the epidemic, many waited for almost two years until being onboarded in late 2024.

Why are tech companies laying off?

The industry had a surge in layoffs in 2023 and 2024, but in 2025, the tendency has not abated. The causes differ: Companies have been compelled to reevaluate their strategy and trim their budgets due to a number of factors, including AI-driven restructuring, high inflation, declining consumer demand, rising borrowing rates, and decreased company investment. 

But even though hundreds are being let go, businesses are still hiring, albeit for different positions. As businesses reorganise around automation, machine learning, and cost effectiveness, AI-related jobs are still expanding.