IT Layoffs 2025 News: 62,000 Job Cuts By 137 Tech Firms — Google, Microsoft, Meta At Helm - Is AI The Culprit?

Microsoft has laid off another 300 employees, just weeks after slashing 6,000 roles in one of its largest workforce reductions in years.

The latest job cuts, disclosed via a Washington state notice, come amid the company’s continued restructuring push and massive investment—an estimated $80 billion—in artificial intelligence (AI) infrastructure this fiscal year.

Is AI The Culprit?

While Microsoft has not specified which departments were impacted, earlier layoffs primarily affected software engineers and project managers, raising red flags across the tech industry. 

CEO Satya Nadella clarified that these were not performance-based cuts, but rather a “realignment” to prepare for AI-led priorities.

“This was not about people failing. It was about repositioning for what comes next,” Nadella said during an internal town hall.

As Microsoft, along with peers like Google, Amazon, Intel, Meta, and Apple, leans heavily into AI, concern is growing that traditional tech roles—especially in software development and middle management—are being eliminated or fundamentally changed.

“The question isn’t if AI will take your job...” This sentiment was echoed on LinkedIn by Rachit M., an AI platform builder, who asked, “The question isn’t whether AI will take your job. The question is: how will your role transform as AI becomes integrated into your industry?”

Also Read: Gold Price Today: Check Latest Price in Delhi, Mumbai & Other Cities

LinkedIn Reactions Reflect Industry Anxiety

Ravi Raushan, SDE at Amazon, “Layoffs have become very common. It’s not even performance-based anymore—anyone can get laid off any day.”

Chaitanya Sharma, tech executive, “Efficiency without empathy feels like budget cuts in a blazer. Excel can calculate savings, not trust.”

Priyanshi Goyal, digital marketing strategist, “These layoffs reflect a broader industry trend, where adaptability, continuous upskilling, and AI fluency are no longer optional.”

Zero Headcount Growth in 3 Years

Adding to the concerns, Deedy Das, VC at Menlo Ventures, pointed out a troubling trend, “BigTech jobs have ZERO growth in the last 3 years. Google, Microsoft, Apple, Tesla, Meta, Nvidia, and Palantir have collectively stagnated headcount.”

He attributes the stagnation in Big Tech hiring to several key factors. Overhiring during the low-interest-rate boom of 2020–2022, a slowdown in consumer software growth post-pandemic, rising interest rates forcing CFOs to prioritise cost-cutting and margin improvement, massive capital spending on AI infrastructure and chips, and increasing productivity from AI, which has reduced the need for large teams.

“Does Microsoft have 400k vs 200k people, actually 2x the business? Maybe or maybe not,” Das added. “Execs might realise, hey, I can keep growing without hiring—and say I 'use AI’.”

Das also noted that Microsoft’s headcount grew ~10% annually from 2012–2022, but has now remained flat for three years, aligning with the post-pandemic AI surge.

IT Layoffs and Hiring Slowdown in India and World

So far in 2025, over 62,000 tech employees at 137 companies have been laid off, according to Layoffs.fyi. 

Microsoft alone accounts for more than 6,300 of those job losses.

In India, according to the Naukri JobSpeak Report for May 2025, hiring activity in the IT-Software/Software Services sector saw a year-on-year decline of 5%. The total job index for the sector stood at 3,457 in May 2025, compared to 3,630 in May 2024. 

Over the past year, the sector has shown fluctuations, with peaks in July 2024 (3,713) and February 2025 (3,711), but overall hiring remained subdued.

This reflects ongoing caution in the tech industry, likely due to restructuring, AI-led changes, and a shift in hiring priorities.

The company has revealed that AI now writes up to 30% of code in certain projects—an efficiency gain that comes at the cost of many coding jobs. Microsoft has also flattened organisational layers and quietly shifted hiring focus to AI-aligned roles.