The Tel Aviv-based work management software company, Monday.com, has announced significant workforce reductions, becoming the latest technology firm to cite artificial intelligence as a contributing factor in its restructuring efforts. In a filing with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) on Wednesday, the company revealed plans to lay off approximately 20% of its global workforce, impacting just over 600 employees. This move is framed as part of a broader "restructuring plan" aimed at optimizing operations and accelerating its "AI-driven growth strategy."
The company’s announcement comes amidst a broader wave of job cuts within the tech industry, with many organizations re-evaluating their operational models and talent needs in the face of rapid advancements in AI. Monday.com’s leadership has emphasized that the decision is not solely about cost reduction or direct replacement of human roles by AI, but rather about adapting the organization to a new AI-first vision that has been central to its strategic direction for the past year, following a significant rebranding effort focused on platform-wide AI integration.
Strategic Realignment and AI Integration
In a candid memo to employees, shared on LinkedIn, Monday.com co-founder Eran Zinman articulated the rationale behind the layoffs, stating, "This was not made to reduce costs or replace people with AI." Instead, he positioned the decision as a necessary adaptation to the company’s evolving AI-first strategy. This strategy, outlined approximately a year ago, marked a pivotal shift in the company’s trajectory, centering its product development, marketing, and go-to-market approaches around leveraging AI to enhance its work management platform.
The company’s restructuring plan is designed to foster a "leaner, more focused operating model." Despite the significant workforce reduction, Monday.com anticipates incurring between $45 million and $55 million in net restructuring charges. However, the company remains optimistic about its financial future, projecting a robust year-over-year revenue growth of up to 20% for the fiscal year 2026. This forward-looking projection underscores the company’s commitment to continued expansion and innovation, even as it navigates internal adjustments.
Broader Tech Sector Trends: AI and Workforce Dynamics
The decision by Monday.com mirrors a discernible trend across the technology sector. Recent analysis by the Financial Times indicates that U.S. tech companies have collectively eliminated nearly 140,000 jobs since the beginning of the current year. Major players such as Amazon, Oracle, Meta, and Microsoft have accounted for a substantial portion of these cuts, with these tech giants collectively shedding close to 50,000 roles. This phenomenon is closely linked to the massive investments, reportedly in the hundreds of billions of dollars, that these companies are channeling into the development and deployment of AI technologies, including the construction of extensive AI data centers.
Interestingly, the Financial Times’ analysis also revealed a potential market sentiment disconnect. Companies that have explicitly cited AI as a factor in their workforce reductions have, on average, underperformed the Nasdaq stock index by nearly 10% in the 30 trading days following their layoff announcements. This suggests that the market may be scrutinizing the narrative surrounding AI-driven job displacement, perhaps questioning the direct causal link or the long-term strategic implications.
A Nuanced Landscape: Hiring and Redeployment
While the narrative of job cuts is prominent, the landscape of AI’s impact on the workforce is far from uniform. The Financial Times’ report also highlights that companies at the forefront of AI development, such as Anthropic and OpenAI, are experiencing rapid hiring growth. These organizations are actively seeking to absorb talent, thereby creating a dynamic where expertise is being reallocated rather than entirely lost from the industry.
Furthermore, within some of the very companies implementing layoffs, a strategic redeployment of employees is occurring. Meta, for instance, transitioned approximately 7,000 employees into new AI-focused roles earlier this year, even as it simultaneously laid off 8,000 other staff members. Similarly, IBM has announced plans to triple its entry-level hiring for AI and hybrid-cloud positions, concurrent with its recent workforce reductions. This indicates a strategic shift in skill requirements, with companies prioritizing roles that align with emerging AI capabilities.
A Chronological Overview of AI-Related Layoffs in 2026
The following is a detailed look at significant technology companies that have announced substantial layoffs in 2026, with artificial intelligence identified as a contributing factor:
Microsoft – July 9, 2026
Microsoft initiated approximately 4,800 role eliminations, representing about 2.1% of its global workforce. The majority of these cuts were concentrated within its Xbox gaming division, a move that followed the company’s substantial $75 billion acquisition of Activision Blizzard three years prior. The company also offered voluntary separation packages. Microsoft clarified that these role eliminations were "not being replaced by AI," but acknowledged that "AI is changing how work gets done." CFO Amy Hood noted that total headcount had declined year-over-year in fiscal Q3 and was expected to continue this downward trend as the company focused on optimizing its teams for agility and pace amidst escalating AI investments.
Oracle – June 22, 2026
Oracle disclosed in late June that its workforce had decreased by 21,000 employees over the preceding 12 months, marking a 13% reduction. This figure represented more substantial cuts than previously known. The company explicitly cited the impact of AI in its annual financial regulatory filing, stating, "The adoption and deployment of AI technologies across our operations have resulted, and may continue to result, in reductions to our workforce."
GitLab – June 3, 2026
GitLab implemented layoffs affecting approximately 350 employees, constituting about 14% of its staff. This decision was driven by the need to fund significant AI infrastructure investments and to manage the escalating traffic generated by AI workflows. CEO Bill Staples highlighted that "agentic workloads are pushing competitors to the brink," necessitating a "generational rebuild" of the company’s core infrastructure to accommodate projected 100x growth requirements. The company is also withdrawing from 22 countries, streamlining management layers, and collaborating with an undisclosed AI lab to re-engineer its platform for agent-scale workloads.
Google – Ongoing through May 2026
Alphabet’s Google has been implementing a series of discreet workforce reductions across its Cloud division, impacting teams such as its Threat Intelligence Group and cybersecurity staff linked to Mandiant. These cuts are occurring even as Google Cloud reported substantial revenue growth of 63%, surpassing $20 billion for the first time, and saw its backlog nearly double to over $460 billion. Over the past year, Google has reduced its management ranks by over a third, particularly among those overseeing smaller teams. Unlike many peers, Google has not announced a singular layoff figure, with reductions occurring through performance reviews, voluntary buyouts, and organizational restructuring. Outside estimates place the total number of engineers affected in 2026 between 1,500 and over 3,000.
Intuit – May 20, 2026
Intuit announced plans to eliminate approximately 3,000 jobs, representing about 17% of its workforce. This restructuring initiative is centered on reducing operational complexity and reallocating resources towards AI development. CEO Sasan Goodarzi reportedly communicated to staff that the company’s objective is to simplify its structure to enhance product delivery.
Meta – May 20-21, 2026
Meta laid off approximately 8,000 employees, roughly 10% of its workforce. Concurrently, the company redeployed about 7,000 employees into new AI-focused roles. CEO Mark Zuckerberg indicated that these measures were essential due to the competitive nature of AI, stating that "success isn’t a given" in this domain.
Cisco – May 14, 2026
Cisco announced layoffs impacting nearly 4,000 jobs, or about 5% of its workforce, despite reporting better-than-expected quarterly profits and revenue. CFO Mark Patterson characterized the move not as a "savings-driven restructure" but as a strategic realignment of "resources around silicon, optics, security and AI."
Cloudflare – May 7-8, 2026
Cloudflare reduced its workforce by approximately 20%, impacting 1,100 employees. This occurred in the same quarter the company reported a record $639.8 million in revenue, a 34% year-over-year increase. CEO Matthew Prince explained that "the vast majority of those we laid off last week were measurers" – encompassing roles in middle management, finance, legal, internal auditing, and revenue recognition – suggesting AI’s role in automating or streamlining these functions.
General Motors – May 12, 2026
GM eliminated between 500 and 600 jobs, primarily within its IT departments in Austin, Texas, and Warren, Michigan. The company cited a reevaluation of its workforce needs amidst uncertain market conditions. Sources familiar with the decision indicated that AI played a role, though not exclusively. GM stated it was "transforming its Information Technology organization to better position the company for the future." Despite these cuts, the company maintained approximately 80 open IT positions, including roles in AI, motorsports, and autonomous vehicles.
Coinbase – May 5, 2026
The cryptocurrency exchange announced the layoff of approximately 700 employees, or 14% of its staff. This restructuring aims to address market volatility and enhance AI efficiency. Coinbase also flattened its organizational structure and indicated plans to experiment with "one-person teams" combining engineering, design, and product functions. CEO Brian Armstrong highlighted the dramatic acceleration of work facilitated by AI, noting that "engineers use AI to ship in days what used to take a team weeks," and stressed the necessity of "leverage AI across every facet of our jobs."
PayPal – May 5, 2026
PayPal revealed plans to cut around 20% of its workforce over the next two to three years, impacting over 4,500 jobs. This strategic overhaul is centered on AI adoption and organizational simplification. CEO Enrique Lores emphasized the company’s intent to "aggressively adopt AI" in its development processes and established a dedicated "AI transformation and simplification" team to redesign company processes. Lores framed the cuts as a means of removing organizational layers, with AI expected to extend beyond coding into customer service, support, and risk management.
Snap – April 16, 2026
Snap reduced its global workforce by roughly 16%, affecting approximately 1,000 full-time employees and closing over 300 open roles. CEO Evan Spiegel cited "rapid advancements in artificial intelligence" as a key driver, enabling teams to "reduce repetitive work, increase velocity, and better support our community, partners, and advertisers." The company reported observing significant progress in areas like Snapchat+ and ad platform performance through AI tool utilization.
IBM – Rolling through 2026
Estimates suggest that between 3,000 and 9,000 U.S. positions have been eliminated at IBM through various rounds of reductions, including those impacting Red Hat engineering. This brings IBM’s cumulative job losses since September 2024 to over 15,000. The company plans to significantly increase its U.S. entry-level hiring for AI and hybrid-cloud roles. A spokesperson described earlier cuts as a "routine rebalancing" affecting "a low single-digit percentage" of its global workforce, though approximately 200 HR positions were reportedly replaced by AI agents.
Atlassian – March 11, 2026
Atlassian cut about 1,600 jobs, or 10% of its workforce, to "rebalance" its focus towards AI and enterprise sales. CEO Mike Cannon-Brookes acknowledged that while AI is not directly replacing people, it is fundamentally altering the "mix of skills we need or the number of roles required in certain areas."
Dell – January 30 (Disclosed March 2026)
Dell’s total workforce experienced a decline of approximately 10% in fiscal year 2026, resulting in the elimination of roughly 11,000 jobs. This brought the company’s employee count down to approximately 97,000 from 108,000 a year earlier. The company incurred $569 million in severance costs. These reductions coincided with Dell’s projection that its AI-optimized server revenue could double in fiscal year 2027.
Oracle – March 5-31, 2026
As previously noted, Oracle began implementing significant job cuts, with thousands of employees informed via terminal emails. These reductions occurred even as Oracle reported a 27% year-over-year increase in quarterly net income and substantial growth in its remaining performance obligations. The savings were reportedly redirected towards AI data centers. These cuts ultimately contributed to the 21,000 employee reduction disclosed in its June 22 annual filing.
Block – February 26-27, 2026
Jack Dorsey’s Block cut 4,000 jobs, reducing its workforce by nearly half, from over 10,000 to under 6,000 employees. Dorsey stated that "intelligence tools we’re creating and using, paired with smaller and flatter teams, are enabling a new way of working which fundamentally changes what it means to build and run a company." He posited that "most companies are late" in adopting similar structural changes driven by AI.
Salesforce – February 10, 2026
Salesforce laid off fewer than 1,000 employees across various departments, including marketing, product management, data analytics, and its Agentforce AI unit. The company indicated that "because of the benefits and efficiencies of Agentforce, we’ve seen the number of support cases we handle decline and we no longer need to actively backfill support engineer roles." This followed an earlier reduction of approximately 4,000 customer-support roles, shrinking that team significantly. CEO Marc Benioff cited the need for "less heads" due to AI agents handling a substantial workload.
Amazon – January 28, 2026
Amazon eliminated 16,000 corporate jobs, adding to the 14,000 cuts made in October 2025, representing about 9% of its corporate workforce within a three-month period. The company framed these layoffs as part of an effort to "strengthen our organization by reducing layers, increasing ownership, and removing bureaucracy." CEO Andy Jassy had previously stated that the widespread adoption of generative AI and agents would necessitate fewer employees in certain roles, projecting efficiency gains from extensive AI utilization across the company.
The ongoing adjustments within the tech industry, exemplified by Monday.com’s recent announcement, underscore a critical period of transformation. As companies navigate the integration of AI, workforce dynamics are being reshaped, leading to strategic workforce realignments, talent redeployments, and, in many cases, significant job reductions. The long-term implications of these changes for both the companies and the broader labor market will continue to unfold in the coming years.
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