IBM To Cut Thousands Of Jobs Amid AI Push, Joins Big Tech Layoff Wave
IBM plans to lay off at least 2,700 employees, representing 1% of its global workforce, in the fourth quarter of 2025. The job cuts, reported by CNBC, are expected to primarily affect US-based roles as the company intensifies its focus on artificial intelligence.
Key Takeaways
- IBM will cut 2,700+ jobs (1% of workforce) in Q4 2025
- Layoffs follow similar workforce reductions at Amazon, Microsoft, Google, and Salesforce
- Tech companies cite AI adoption and business restructuring as primary reasons
IBM’s Workforce Reduction
With a total workforce of 270,000 at the end of 2024, IBM’s planned cuts reflect a broader industry trend. The company joins other technology giants that have been restructuring their operations to prioritize AI development and implementation.
Amazon’s Major Restructuring
Earlier, Amazon eliminated 14,000 positions as part of global restructuring efforts. The cuts targeted management layers from junior to senior levels, with over 80% of affected employees coming from the retail division, including e-commerce, HR, and logistics teams.
According to chief HR Beth Galetti’s blog post, terminated employees would receive full pay and benefits for 90 days along with severance packages.
Salesforce and Google Layoffs
Salesforce cut over 4,000 jobs in September, with CEO Marc Benioff explaining on the Logan Bartlett podcast that “AI takes on a larger share of customer-facing operations.”
Google has eliminated several hundred positions across divisions this year. In one notable instance, the company replaced 200 workers who had protested working conditions with AI systems. These employees had been responsible for assessing and training Google’s Gemini chatbot.
Microsoft’s Ongoing Workforce Changes
Microsoft announced in July that it would lay off approximately 9,000 employees, representing 4% of its workforce. This marked the company’s third round of job cuts in 2025, following 6,000 layoffs in May and over 300 additional terminations shortly after.
The tech giant cited restructuring efforts and significant AI investments as driving factors behind the workforce reductions.
