Layoffs 2026: latest company updates, job cuts and industry trends

UPS expects to reduce up to 30,000 operational positions during 2026 through natural attrition and a voluntary separation programme for full-time drivers, linked to handling fewer low-margin Amazon deliveries and simplifying its network, including facility closures. Because the figure is a maximum and includes voluntary departures, it is not 30,000 people already laid off.

Source: CBS News / UPS earnings call

Dow disclosed in a US SEC filing that its board approved a reduction of about 4,500 roles globally, part of its Transform to Outperform programme to simplify processes and improve productivity. Severance costs are projected across 2026 and 2027, so the total does not mean every separation happened in January.

Source: Dow SEC Form 8-K

Mastercard said a strategic review would affect about 4% of its full-time employees, and CFO Sachin Mehra disclosed an expected restructuring charge of about $200 million in the first quarter. The percentage is confirmed; an exact number of positions is not, so the table keeps the percentage.

Source: Reuters, 29 Jan 2026

After Palo Alto Networks acquired CyberArk, about 500 of CyberArk's roughly 4,000 employees were reported laid off, mainly overlapping roles from the merger. Research and development was reported as not slated for cuts. The 500 is a reported estimate, not a company figure.

Source: InformationWeek citing CTech

Pendo confirmed about 90 positions, roughly a tenth of its workforce, including 30 in Raleigh, North Carolina, framed around a shift in how it builds software amid AI adoption. It did not present the move as weak customer demand.

Source: ABC11, company statement

Nike announced about 1,400 more job cuts, concentrated in global operations and technology, to simplify workflows amid a prolonged sales slowdown. It followed an earlier January reduction of 775 roles; the two rounds are kept separate.

Source: Reuters, 23 Apr 2026

LinkedIn planned to reduce its global workforce by about 5%, Reuters reported, citing people familiar with the matter, across engineering, product and marketing. A source did not characterise the cuts as workers being replaced by AI. This is separate from Microsoft's July cuts.

Source: Reuters, 13 May 2026

Groupon announced a restructuring tied to Project Foundry, putting more AI-based systems into core operations. Up to 400 positions were reported affected, including contractors, so it is affected positions, not necessarily 400 full-time employees.

Source: InformationWeek company tracker

Wix said it would cut about 1,000 jobs, near one fifth of its workforce. CEO Avishai Abrahami pointed to the stronger Israeli shekel, which raised local costs in dollar terms, and to faster advances in AI. That is currency pressure and productivity together, not AI alone.

Source: Reuters, 28 May 2026

CEO Zeb Evans said ClickUp had reduced its workforce by 22%, rebuilding around AI-powered workflows, with savings largely reinvested in remaining staff. No exact headcount was established, so the percentage is used.

Source: TechCrunch, 25 May 2026

Standard Chartered plans to reduce corporate-function staffing by about 15% by 2030 as technology and AI change its operations. Reuters calculated this could mean more than 7,000 roles over four years. It is a multi-year plan, not a completed 2026 layoff.

Source: Reuters, 19 May 2026

BAT announced plans to eliminate about 5,500 jobs and transfer about 3,500 roles to external service providers, around 9,000 roles in total outside the United States. Outsourced roles are not employee layoffs, and the plan runs beyond the announcement date.

Source: Reuters, 29 Jun 2026

Paytm confirmed plans to let go of about 400 employees, around 1% of its workforce, after its appraisal cycle, while discussing hiring roughly 4,000 people over the next nine months for merchant, product, technology and AI roles. Restructuring is not the same as a hiring freeze.

Source: Bloomberg via Moneycontrol

Visa confirmed plans to eliminate about 7% of its workforce, around 2,600 jobs, after an efficiency review, with technology and product teams bearing much of it, to redirect resources toward stronger opportunities. The report does not support saying every cut was caused by automation.

Source: Reuters via Spokesman-Review

Zomato was reported to be closing its Hyderabad Customer Delight support centre, affecting about 240 people, and consolidating in-house support in Gurugram. Accounts differ on whether the workers were on Zomato's payroll or with third-party providers, so these are affected support roles, not assumed direct employees.

Source: Business Standard, 31 Aug 2026

Uber announced a reduction of about 10%, around 3,300 people according to Reuters. CEO Dara Khosrowshahi cited simpler teams, fewer layers and redirecting investment to its highest priorities. Uber did not name AI replacement as the reason.

Source: Uber CEO statement, 2 Sep 2026

Adidas confirmed it was reducing roles in its technology organisation in India, including its Gurugram hub. Larger figures circulated, but Adidas told Business Standard the impact would be under 20% of its technology workforce. No absolute number was confirmed, so none is printed.

Source: Business Standard, company statement

The Latvian airline is preparing to cut about 500 to 700 positions across Riga, Vilnius and Tallinn, linked to a financial restructuring, route and fleet changes after a Chapter 11 filing in the US. Union talks are ongoing and the number may change.

Source: Reuters via Euronext, corrected 9 Oct

Royal Mail disclosed a programme that could mean up to 2,500 job losses, concentrated in management, administration and support. The union said frontline delivery, processing and distribution grades were not the direct target and compulsory redundancies were ruled out. A second phase is subject to consultation, some of it into 2027.

Source: Communication Workers Union, 7 Oct

The French automotive supplier plans to cut about 770 jobs in Europe, about 460 in Germany and 310 in France, and close or scale back some sites, citing lower vehicle production forecasts, customer changes and delays in hydrogen projects. Industrial demand, not AI.

Source: Reuters via Euronext, 7 Oct

GSK proposed up to 1,217 job reductions in Belgium, including research, manufacturing support and administration, as part of a three-year cost programme to prioritise drug development. Factory production workers were reported as not targeted. These are roles at risk, not completed dismissals.

Source: Reuters via Euronext, 14 Oct

Flutter said its UK and Ireland business could make up to 1,400 positions redundant after large increases in British gambling tax, affecting Leeds, Dublin and hubs in Porto and Cluj-Napoca. Subject to consultation, so the maximum is not a final number.

Source: Flutter official press release

NAB plans to eliminate up to 2,500 jobs, around 6% of its workforce, by mid 2027, with up to 1,500 by the end of 2026, to cut duplication and simplify corporate and management functions. Customer-facing roles are not expected to be materially affected.

Source: ABC News / NAB ASX statement

EA told staff it intended to close BioWare, the Canadian studio behind Mass Effect and Dragon Age, to focus on fewer major projects. Reuters, citing Bloomberg, reported about 400 positions could go company-wide, including about 50 at BioWare. The closure is confirmed; the number is not an official company count.

Source: Reuters / Bloomberg, 21 Oct

Barclays said it would reduce its workforce by about 5,000 jobs, around 5%, during 2026, with about 1,000 already gone and the rest before year end, linked to technology efficiencies including AI. About 60% of the cuts fall in support functions.

Source: Reuters via Euronext, 22 Oct

Microsoft said it was eliminating about 4,800 roles, about 2.1% of its global workforce. It stated the roles were not being replaced by AI, while acknowledging AI was changing how work is done. This is the same July figure as in the table, not an additional count.

Source: Microsoft corporate blog, 6 July 2026

Local reporting described changes at Microsoft's Israeli Copilot Studio team, with dozens of employees facing redeployment or dismissal and many able to move internally. No final number was confirmed, so it is not added to the 4,800.

Source: Globes, 12 October 2026