Big Tech cut 80,000 jobs and blamed AI — industry experts say CEOs are covering up their mistakes. Who’s right?
In Q1 2026, 86 tech companies laid off over 80,000 employees, with CEOs citing AI as the cause, but industry experts say they are covering up their mistakes. Sam Altman, CEO of OpenAI, said 'almost every company that does layoffs is blaming AI, whether or not it really is about AI'.
In the first quarter of 2026, 86 tech companies laid off over 80,000 employees, a significant increase from the 30,000 workers laid off by 103 tech companies in Q1 2025. CEOs of these companies are citing AI as the reason for the job cuts, with AI being claimed as the leading reason for 25% of layoffs in the US in March. Meta announced plans to lay off 10% of its staff in May, while Microsoft offered voluntary buyouts to around 7% of its employees. Other tech companies that have cut jobs in 2026 include Eventbrite, Oracle, Quora, and Spotify. Sam Altman, CEO of OpenAI, said that companies are 'AI washing' by blaming job cuts on AI. Marc Andreessen, a businessman and venture capitalist, suggested that the true causes of layoffs are not AI, but other factors.
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