Tech firms cut 25,000 jobs as AI-driven restructuring sweeps industry

Uber, Monday.com and Oracle have eliminated more than 25,000 positions this year as technology companies restructure operations around artificial intelligence, marking one of the fastest workforce realignments in the sector's history.

"The organization had become too complex and siloed," Megha Yethatika, Uber's vice president of global community operations, wrote in an internal email obtained by Yahoo Finance, explaining the need for a more effective structure before expanding AI across the business.

Uber cut 10% of its customer service department this week, its second workforce reduction in two months following a 23% reduction in its People and Places division in June. Monday.com eliminated about 620 positions, or 20% of its global workforce, as the Israeli software company shifts from helping customers manage work to a model where employees and AI agents operate together. Oracle has recorded the largest number of technology layoffs this year, with more than 25,000 positions eliminated, according to research by UK-based investment firm TradingPlatforms.

Technology services company Cognizant estimates 93% of jobs could be affected by AI in some way, with the pace of change arriving six years earlier than previously forecast. The restructuring wave raises questions about how many of the eliminated roles will return as companies hire for AI-specific positions.

Customer Service and Operations Bear the Brunt

The cuts are concentrated in roles most susceptible to automation. Uber's latest reductions targeted customer service teams, which the company said were being streamlined to simplify operations and continue embracing AI. Monday.com's restructuring similarly aims to reduce management layers and establish smaller, autonomous teams, with co-founders Roy Mann and Eran Zinman describing the layoffs as the "most painful decision" since the company was founded, according to CTech.

Amazon also announced major layoffs earlier this year as part of wider organizational changes. Senior Vice President Beth Galetti said the company had been reducing management layers, increasing ownership and removing bureaucracy — a pattern echoed across the sector as companies seek leaner structures before deploying AI at scale.

Reinvestment Plans Signal Strategy Shift

Monday.com stressed that its workforce reduction was not aimed primarily at improving margins or replacing employees with AI. The company plans to reinvest most of the savings into employees, products and AI-driven growth. In an SEC filing, the company said the restructuring supports "a leaner, more focused operating model" as it continues investing in its AI strategy.

Uber similarly framed its cuts as a reorganization rather than pure cost reduction, with the company also tightening its return-to-office policy for remote employees to improve collaboration on AI-enabled products. The ride-hailing company's global workforce of more than 40,000 employees means the latest cuts affected a relatively small portion of staff, but the explicit link to AI adoption marks a shift from its June restructuring, which the company said was not AI-related.

For investors, the wave of AI-linked layoffs presents a mixed signal. Companies cutting headcount while reinvesting in AI could see margin expansion over time — Monday.com reported revenue of $351.3 million in the first quarter, up 24% from a year earlier, with operating profit doubling to $20 million. But the scale of the reductions, particularly Oracle's 25,000-plus job cuts, shows the transition may be more disruptive than many analysts anticipated. Cognizant's estimate that AI-driven change has arrived six years ahead of schedule highlights the speed at which companies are being forced to adapt.

This article is for informational purposes only and does not constitute investment advice.