AI Layoffs Already Have Surpassed Last Year’s Total. Tech Workers Are Being Cut First.

AI-related layoffs have surged, with Challenger data showing more than 87,000 cuts tied to AI in the first five months of 2026—already eclipsing 2025’s full-year total. The pain is concentrated in tech (roughly 40% of May’s cuts), hitting high-paid coding roles and pressuring names such as IBM, Qualcomm and Cisco, even as overall payrolls remain resilient (nonfarm payrolls +172,000 in May; unemployment 4.3%). NVIDIA (NVDA.OQ) remains the market’s AI beneficiary, underpinning hiring in parts of the sector, while companies from legacy software to consumer brands (Starbucks) are restructuring and tying incentives to AI. The divergence—robust headline jobs but concentrated tech weakness—creates mixed implications for investors: trim exposure to firms leaning on AI-driven cost cuts or watch hyperscalers and NVDA-led suppliers for further upside if AI spending holds.