New Delhi, April 19 (IANS). Global technology companies have increased layoffs in the first quarter of 2026 and 95 companies have laid off a total of more than 73,200 employees.
Data from Layoffs.FYI shows that layoffs have once again increased in the last two weeks. Companies like Snap, The Walt Disney Company, Meta Platforms, and Oracle Corporation have recently announced layoffs, as companies streamline their operations to reduce costs and put resources toward AI.
Social media platform Snap said it will reduce about 1,000 jobs, or about 16 percent of its workforce, and eliminate more than 300 open positions to increase efficiency and accelerate growth.
Chief Executive Officer Evan Spiegel said that advances in AI are making it possible to automate repetitive tasks, and streamlining operations is expected to save the company more than $500 million by the second half of 2026, while the layoff costs are estimated at between $95 million and $130 million.
The company announced four months of severance pay, continued healthcare and equity vesting for its US-based employees.
The Walt Disney Co. is planning to cut about 1,000 positions as part of its first major restructuring under new CEO Josh D’Amaro, according to multiple reports.
Meta Platforms is also continuing to cut its workforce, with plans to eliminate 198 positions in its Burlingame and Sunnyvale, California offices. In March, Meta had already cut 700 positions across recruiting, sales and operations departments, including positions in the Reality Labs division.
In January, the company announced cuts of 1,500 jobs from its augmented and virtual reality divisions.
American technology giant Oracle plans to lay off 20,000 to 30,000 employees to increase the capacity of its AI data center, while Amazon has recently announced the layoff of 16,000 employees as part of its AI restructuring plan.
India is among the regions hardest hit by layoffs at Oracle, where estimates suggest around 12,000 employees across cloud, healthcare, sales and NetSuite divisions have been affected.
Many prominent technology industry leaders say most high-level positions that rely on computers could be automated within the next 12 to 18 months.
–IANS
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