Factbox: Companies cutting jobs as investments shift toward AI

Telstra

21/05/2026 08:43

Adds Standard Chartered and Intuit

May 21 (Reuters) - Concerns are deepening among investors and economists that AI adoption will upend established industries, with job losses already emerging in sectors most exposed to automation.

Goldman Sachs economists said in February that AI was responsible for 5,000 to 10,000 monthly net job losses last year in the most exposed U.S. industries.

A survey by global outplacement firm Challenger, Gray & Christmas linked AI to 7% of total U.S. planned layoffs announced in January.

Below is a table of AI-linked global layoffs announced since October 2025 from biggest to smallest. Entries with no specified number are placed at the bottom.

COMPANY
MONTH ANNOUNCED
JOB CUTS
NOTES
HSBC Holdings HSBA.L
March
20,000, or about 10% of workforce
Weighs deep job cuts as AI overhaul unfolds
Amazon AMZN.O
January
16,000
Corporate job cuts; AI‑ and efficiency‑driven overhaul
Standard Chartered STAN.L
May
>7,000
Cuts over 4 years; AI-driven operational streamlining, profitability optimisation
HP Inc HPQ.N
November
4,000-6,000
Global cuts by end-2028; AI and operational streamlining
Mizuho 8411.T
February
Up to 5,000
Cuts over 10 years; long-term AI‑driven streamlining plan
Dow DOW.N
January
4,500
13% of workforce; automation and AI streamlining
Block XYZ.N
February
>4,000
Nearly half its workforce; AI‑focused restructuring
Cisco CSCO.O
May
<4,000
Less than 5% of its workforce; expects pre-tax charges of up to $1 billion
Intuit INTU.O
May
~3,000, or about 17% of workforce
Operational streamlining, increased focus on AI efforts
SEB SEBF.PA
February
Up to 2,100
Cuts by end-2027; restructuring to leverage AI
Wisetech WTC.AX
February
2,000
One-third of global workforce; AI integration
Allianz ALVG.DE
November
Up to 1,800
Travel insurance division; AI replacing manual work
Atlassian TEAM.O
March
1,600, or around 10% of workforce
Push into AI and enterprise sales
Proximus PROX.BR
February
1,200
Cuts by 2030; AI efficiency measures
Cloudflare NET.N
May
>1,100
Cuts due to AI adoption
Meta META.O, Reality Labs
January
>1,000
Pivot from Metaverse to AI devices
Snap SNAP.N
April
~1,000
Cuts to ramp up AI adoption; streamline operations
Autodesk ADSK.O
January
~1,000
7% of workforce; shift towards cloud and AI
Nike NKE.N
January
775
Profit push and automation
Telstra TLS.AX
February
650
AI‑driven restructuring with Infosys INFY.NS
Meta, Superintelligence Labs
October
~600
Downsizing in AI division
Freshworks FRSH.O
May
~500
Cuts due to work automation and AI adoption
Danske Bank DANSKE.CO
February
420
Cuts due to automation and efficiencies
Meta
March
Up to 20% of workforce
Workforce could shrink by 20% amid AI focus; to invest $600 billion for data centres by 2028
Pinterest PINS.N
January
Up to 15% of workforce
Redirecting resources toward AI strategy
Agora AGOP.WA
December
Up to 166
Nearly 7% of workforce; digital restructuring
MercadoLibre 
MELI.O
January
119
AI‑expansion move
British American Tobacco BATS.L
February
Not specified
AI‑driven productivity programme

(Reporting by Romolo Tosiani and Philippe Leroy Beaulieu in Gdansk, Additional reporting by Anshuman Tripathy; Editing by Matt Scuffham, Milla Nissi-Prussak, Jonathan Ananda, Devika Syamnath and Shilpi Majumdar)

((Romolo.Tosiani@tr.com))