The global IT industry is undergoing significant workforce reductions, with over 52,000 employees laid off in the first months of 2025 alone. According to Layoff.fyi – which tracks publicly reported job cuts across 123 technology companies – nearly 25,000 of those layoffs occurred in April 2025.
Intel has announced plans for the year’s largest downsizing: cutting 20% of its workforce, or roughly 22,000 positions, out of approximately 109,000 employees worldwide. This move echoes a broader pattern of layoffs that began in mid-2024, when more than 25,000 IT workers lost their jobs in August 2024 and 34,000 in January 2024. Over all of 2024, the industry averaged about 12,700 layoffs per month, compared to 22,000 monthly cuts in 2023.
Normalization, Not Decline, Experts Say
Analysts describe the trend as a “normalization” of employment levels rather than evidence of an industry downturn. They note that a surge of investor funding in recent years fueled rapid hiring – often outpacing companies’ ability to turn a profit. As unprofitable ventures folded or restructured, staff were inevitably released back into the labor market.
Automation’s Growing Role
Approximately 30% of these layoffs are attributed to the swift advancement of automation technologies – beyond just AI. For instance, automated design tools now enable individual designers to build and maintain websites that once required entire teams of developers. As these tools become more capable and widespread, the demand for certain roles continues to shrink, reshaping the IT workforce landscape.