Tens of thousands of technology workers ‘fired because of AI’

Citing data from research company RationalFX (UK) based on layoff notices from businesses, statistics from labor management agencies and websites tracking jobs in the technology sector, Nikkei Asia said that a total of 78,557 people in the technology industry were laid off during the period from January 1 to April 1, of which the US accounted for 76.7%. Of these, nearly half of the global job cuts (equivalent to 37,638 jobs) were directly or indirectly related to the implementation of AI and workflow automation.

Previously, some reports showed that AI is making the layoff process happen faster. In March, AI was mentioned as the leading cause of layoffs in the US, accounting for a quarter of more than 60,000 announced layoffs. Globally, according to a survey by Duke University and the US Federal Reserve with 750 chief financial officers (CFOs), the number of layoffs attributed to AI in 2026 is forecast to be 9 times higher than in 2025.

However, another statistic from recruitment analytics company TrueUp published earlier this week showed that employers are also looking for more than 67,000 global software engineer positions, the highest level in more than three years. The number of job postings has doubled since hitting bottom in mid-2023. In the first three months of 2026 alone, the number of job postings increased by 30%, showing a clear recovery in job demand in the technology sector.

“Much of the ‘AI replacing technologists’ argument is not based on recruitment data, at least so far,” Amit Taylor, founder of TrueUp, told Business Insider.

TrueUp tracks more than 260,000 open positions at 9,000 technology companies, focusing on startups and companies listed on the stock exchange. Within this range, demand for software engineers remains strong, while positions related to artificial intelligence are “exploding,” according to Taylor.

“Maybe AI will shrink some roles, or maybe make good engineers so valuable that companies will have to compete fiercely,” Taylor said. “The demand for top talent is very high right now and will continue to be for some time to come.”

However, according to Babak Hodjat, Director of AI at Cognizant, one of the world’s largest information technology service providers, it may take another year for AI’s impact on the labor market to be truly clear.

“Sometimes, AI becomes the scapegoat from a financial perspective, for example when a company hires too many people, or wants to downsize, but blames artificial intelligence,” Hodjat told Nikkei Asia. “It will be another six months, nine months or a year before companies start to see real productivity benefits from AI. Now is the transition period.”

According to Hodjat, while tools like OpenClaw can help businesses deploy AI agents quickly with fewer technical requirements, they still lack the necessary security and reliability. This person also said that Cognizant has no intention of laying off employees as AI assistants become better. Instead, the company aims to help employees master AI to increase productivity and the ability to take on more work, as well as recruit more graduates.

“There will be many people who graduate and cannot find a job because they do not have enough AI expertise. You have to recruit them, and let them learn during the working process about how to use AI in different fields,” Hodjat added. “Compared to hiring experienced employees, this method is cheaper and faster.”