AI was tied to 38,579 of the month's cuts, accounting for roughly 40 per cent of the total #
American employers announced 97,006 job cuts in May 2026, the steepest monthly figure since January and the worst May tally since 2020, according to data from outplacement firm Challenger, Gray & Christmas.
The figure rose 16 per cent from April and marked the third straight month in which layoff announcements increased, with artificial intelligence named the leading reason for a third consecutive month.
Technology accounted for the largest share of the losses. The sector announced 38,242 cuts in May, its heaviest monthly total since August 2024, followed by transportation, services, and fintech.
AI was tied to 38,579 of the month's cuts, roughly 40 per cent of the total and the highest figure Challenger has recorded for the reason since it began tracking it in 2023, up from just 7 per cent of cuts in January.
'On top of the headline AI story, we're seeing a sharp rise in cuts tied to acquisitions and mergers and a jump in bankruptcy-related losses, which tells me companies are restructuring aggressively as they reposition for an AI-driven economy,' said Andy Challenger, the firm's chief revenue officer.
Meta and Amazon Drive the Biggest Cuts #
Meta began notifying roughly 8,000 employees on 20 May that their roles had been eliminated, about 10 per cent of its global workforce. Layoff emails first reached staff in Singapore at 4 a.m. local time before rolling westward. Chief People Officer Janelle Gale told staff that around 7,000 remaining workers would be moved into newly formed AI teams.
The Facebook parent has guided capital expenditure of as much as £115 billion ($145 billion) for 2026, a range it raised in April. That is nearly double the £57 billion ($72.2 billion) it spent in 2025, with most of it flowing into data centres, chips, and AI infrastructure. Chief executive Mark Zuckerberg framed the reductions as necessary to stay competitive in artificial intelligence.
Amazon confirmed further cuts within its Selling Partner Services division, which supports third-party merchants. A company spokesperson described the move as affecting a 'relatively small number' of roles. It adds to roughly 30,000 positions Amazon has eliminated since October 2025 across retail, robotics, and cloud operations.
Intuit, the maker of TurboTax and QuickBooks, axed about 3,000 roles, or 17 per cent of its workforce, on the same day Meta's cuts began. Chief executive Sasan Goodarzi told employees the restructuring was meant to strip out complexity and accelerate AI integration.
Affected US staff will stay on the payroll until 31 July with a severance and healthcare package.
Groupon, Cisco, and Wix Slash Hundreds More #
Groupon is eliminating up to 400 positions, roughly a quarter of its staff, by the end of the third quarter as it works to rebuild itself as an 'AI-native' company.
Cisco shed just under 4,000 jobs in the same period despite reporting better-than-expected earnings, with chief executive Chuck Robbins saying it was making 'clear, strategic investments' in silicon, optics, and security.
Website builder Wix announced plans to cut around 1,000 employees, or 20 per cent of its workforce, after a steep share price decline. Co-founder Avishai Abrahami said on X that the company needed to become 'a faster, leaner, and flatter organization.' LinkedIn cut a further 875 roles, about 5 per cent of its staff.
Year-to-Date Toll Crosses 397,000 #
US employers have announced 397,755 job cuts through the first five months of 2026, Challenger's data shows. That total is down 43 per cent from the 696,309 recorded over the same period last year, when reductions to the federal workforce drove figures to record highs.
Technology alone has shed 123,653 jobs so far this year, up 66 per cent on the same point in 2025 and the leading total of any sector by a wide margin. Layoff tracker TrueUp, which covers the technology sector, put the 2026 tally at roughly 157,800 across 420 events. Around 245,000 tech workers lost their jobs across the whole of 2025.
For the year, AI has been cited in 87,714 cuts, about 22 per cent of all 2026 layoffs and already well above the 54,836 attributed to it in all of 2025. Many firms are cutting staff while reporting record revenue, redirecting payroll toward the cost of building and running AI systems. © Copyright IBTimes 2025. All rights reserved.