After more than 30 years the cybersecurity field, Keith Jones recently realized that his role had changed, from being a single contributor to manager of a fairly large team. And this team was getting a lot accomplished — tasks that used to take up a huge chunk of his workday.

No, his company hadn’t hired a group of new employees to work under him. He simply accelerated his use of artificial intelligence tools. Now, instead of grinding through a lot of basic tasks, that work is done for him while he focuses on bigger-picture work.

“It really feels like I have a team behind the scenes, but what I have is Claude [Anthropic’s AI tool],” says Jones, who currently works as a cybersecurity researcher. “I’ve been thinking for the last several months about how much differently I work now than I did a year ago, when I would sit and write all the low-level stuff before I could get to the 10% of the good stuff I really wanted to focus on. Now I can sit back and say, ‘Give me three different ways to solve this problem.’”

Most people working in the technology field, like Jones, have had to figure out how best to work with AI. The technology has come on strong, with many companies making its use mandatory and actively evaluating whether employees are faster and more efficient because of it. And while it is boosting productivity and taking over the burden of repetitive, manual tasks, it’s also creating a new level of stress and a dizzying kind of mental exhaustion.

So what can tech workers do about the heavier mental load that comes with using AI, on top of escalating worries about the safety of their own jobs? AI users and industry analysts say there are specific ways to ease some of those burdens and prepare for a changing job market.

Combating the slop factor

When it comes to working with LLM tools, a well-known issue is dealing with AI workslop and hallucinations. The slop is AI-generated output that is low-quality, buzzword-heavy, and generic. It also can refer to bloated, boilerplate code. Hallucinations are inaccurate or completely made-up results. AI routinely offers this messy or incorrect information with total confidence, giving users a false sense of security.

Using this bad data can lead to anything from minor software bugs to severe liabilities. “Don’t believe the machine is infallible,” says Craig Shue, computer science professor and department head at Worcester Polytechnic Institute (WPI). “That’s when bugs will start working in. There’s a lot of misinformation on the internet, and that could be what the LLM is grabbing and using.”

Here are ways to combat the problem:

• Make AI show its work: Ask it to cite its sources or explain its reasoning. Example prompt: Explain the logic and show the steps before writing the code.
• Give the AI a source of truth: Instead of letting the AI search the internet for information, give it the exact source material (reports, transcripts, data sheets) to base its output on, telling it to use only the information provided.
• Validate. Validate. Validate: Never let AI publish code directly to the main project without first reviewing and running it locally. Similarly, never take AI output and simply move it on to the next person in the project. Every single AI output needs review.
• Don’t be fooled by confidence: As with managing a human, question the output. When you’re busy or tired, it’s easy to just go with the results it gives you. Don’t. Always analyze and question it.

Taking on AI-driven workload creep

Let’s face it: The great promise of AI is that it will take over repetitive, manual tasks, which will save you an incredible amount of time. What isn’t talked about as much is that it also can create a new workload — one that can be exhausting in a whole new way.

“Is AI saving people time? The short answer is yes,” says J.P. Gownder, vice president and principal analyst with Forrester Research. “But people also are being overwhelmed with overproduced things. Everyone wants to look busy and they’re producing more, but not necessarily better. Managers have to push back on that or it’s not really saving you time.”

In a multi-year study by Upwork, the largest online freelance marketplace, 77% of employees reported that AI had increased their workload. The report noted that a boost in productivity comes with a “significant emotional and relational cost,” with 88% of workers who saw the highest productivity gains also feeling burned out. And IDC’s Future of Work 2026 survey reported that 24% of IT workers report increased workload as a top AI concern.

Here are ways to combat the problem:

• Keep it short: Part of the prompt — always — should be to tell any AI tool to be concise.
• Build an anti-slop culture: Don’t simply accept and pass on workslop. It’s insulting for a co-worker to have to deal with pages of largely useless information.
• Filter the noise: When everyone on a team starts using AI, the volume of Slack messages, long-form memos, and data reports skyrockets. Don’t treat it all with equal importance. Practice radical prioritization.
• Manage the transcript deluge: Stop wading through 40-page meeting transcripts that bury action items. Instead, prompt the system to produce a concise summary focused strictly on deliverables or status updates.
• Reduce the AI blast radius: When asked to fix a bug, AI tools often rewrite hundreds of lines of unrelated code, multiplying your code review time. Prevent this by instructing the tool to isolate its changes only to the specific function or file in question.

Managing the AI mental tax

Using AI often necessitates a different kind of mental processing, changing what had been the natural pacing of your day and dramatically increasing context switching. Instead of simply building and testing, someone might be jumping back and forth between auditing, fact-checking, prompting, and re-prompting. To manage strain and protect your focus, new strategies are needed.

Published this past March in the Harvard Business Review, a study by Boston Consulting Group and the University of California, Riverside, surveyed 1,500 workers and coined the term “AI brain fry.” The researchers found that juggling multiple AI tools causes decision fatigue and increases errors.

How to combat the problem:

• Work in batches: Continuously reviewing AI output as it comes in can quickly lead to mental burnout. Dedicate blocks of time throughout your day to interact with your AI tools.
• Create analog islands: Your brain needs time to decompress, and that means taking a break from digital processing… and from screen time in general. Make time in your day to step away from screens, such as taking a 15-minute walk or reading a book instead of watching a video online.
• Know when to step in: Instead of endlessly tweaking prompts to get a perfect result, it is often faster and less mentally taxing to manually write or refactor the final 20% yourself.
• Create base prompts: Writing custom prompts that include everything from guardrails to tone instructions for every new project quickly drains your mental energy. Instead, build two or three reusable system prompts, such as one for refactoring legacy code and another for drafting API docs, and use them as templates.

Proving your human value in a new job market

With companies regularly using AI-based applicant tracking systems to filter resumes, and AI actively shifting job responsibilities and skills requirements, the strategy for how you apply for roles and handle interviews is changing.

Leo Freitas, an analyst and research manager at IDC Research, says it’s critical for job applicants to show potential employers what they can do that machines cannot. “You need demonstrable achievements,” he adds. “It’s good to show highly human skills.”

How to combat the problem:

For your resume:

• Mirror their language: Use the exact language from the job description. Traditional applicant tracking systems rely heavily on structured information and keyword matching, says Teresa Hill, founder and leader of Anchor GTM, a growth marketing consultancy. That means if a posting says “product marketing manager,” don’t just write “PMM.” Write both.
• Keep it simple: Use standard section headers, like “Experience” and “Education.” Creative alternatives and formatting can confuse parsers.
• Avoid AI writing: Use AI to help structure your thinking, then edit until the copy sounds natural and authentically human.
• Swap responsibilities for metrics: To stand out, especially with AI scanners, tie as many bullet points as possible from your work to business outcomes.

For the interview:

• So, how do you use AI? Every interviewer eventually asks some version of this question. The best answers focus on judgment vs. simply name-dropping tools. Explain what you automate, what you never automate, and why.
• Show that you’re a gatekeeper: AI tools can generate code or copy instantly, but they also introduce errors. To stand out, show that you know how to audit, verify, and safeguard quality.
• Focus on learning: Don’t emphasize your expertise with a specific AI tool. Focus on being someone who is adaptable and learns quickly, Hill says. 
• What sets you apart from a machine: Show, don’t tell. Give work examples that demonstrate that you know how to be creative, collaborative, and problem solve. Show metrics whenever possible.
• Demonstrate that you know the limits: Make it clear that you know when to use AI and what not to let it touch without heavy review. 

Future-proofing your career in a shifting tech market

The anxiety echoing through the tech industry is tangible as companies reallocate corporate capital toward automation. While both Gownder and Freitas emphasize that there is far more fear than actual AI-driven layoffs, the shift in corporate spending is undeniably stoking job insecurity.

“There’s this apocalyptical view that AI will take everyone’s job in a few years,” says Freitas. “I don’t see that happening, but many things will change in the nature of how we work. I don’t think the world is going to end tomorrow. But it’s always good to do a self-assessment and look at whether AI can do what you’re doing now.”

How to combat the problem:

• Use this technology to your advantage: Approach AI as a new tool, not a replacement. Use it to make yourself better and faster at your job. “I look at AI like it’s another new tool, and I’m going to learn it like I’ve learned any other tool,” says Jones.
• Don’t bury your head in the sand: Take a look at what you do and consider if it could be done by AI.If your role is highly automatable, think about switching to a more advanced position or to a role, like security, that more clearly needs a human in the loop.
• Take ownership of your career: Expand your knowledge and skills. Find courses and certifications (many are free online) and take advantage of employers’ training programs.
• Work with the business side: Make sure you understand the business — its long-term goals, competitive market, and jargon. Be the bridge between the technical and business sides of the company, giving presentations and solving business problems with technology.
• Highlight your in-house expertise: When you have institutional knowledge, make sure you are openly using it to benefit the business. Your knowledge can be your key differentiator.
• Push the business forward: Think about the next app or customer-facing system that will propel the business forward. Be the one who is advancing the company with tech.
• Continue to adapt: Don’t get stuck in your anxiety. Keep being curious and working your learning muscles. 

More on AI in the workplace:

• Burned out by bots: The rise of prompt fatigue in the workplace
• The AI tech job slaughter gets real
• Increased AI expectations without guidance leads to employee burnout
• ‘Botsitting’: The AI time-savings killer only governance can stop
• Here are the top AI certifications that will get you hired and promoted
• How to curb hallucinations in Copilot (and other genAI tools)

Among a range of factors leading to a wave of tech sector layoffs in 2026 is the rapid rise of artificial intelligence and automation. Companies are reconfiguring their workforces to leverage AI for increased efficiency and reduced operating costs. This realignment and reduction is implemented even by companies reporting strong financial performance.

But it’s not just AI leading to workforce cuts. Complementing this technological shift are ongoing economic uncertainty, inflation, and higher interest rates, compounded by a chip shortage and rising energy costs. This mix is driving companies to cut costs and streamline operations for increased efficiency.

According to data compiled by Layoffs.fyi, an online tracker that keep tabs on job losses in the technology sector, 123,941 tech employees were laid off at 269 companies in 2025. The site also reports that 71,981 government employees were laid off by DOGE alone, with 182,528 total federal workers laid off.

Here is a list — to be updated regularly — of some of the most prominent technology layoffs the industry has experienced recently.

Notable tech layoffs in 2026

• Monday.com
• Microsoft
• Meta
• Cisco
• Cloudflare
• Oracle
• Atlassian
• Salesforce
• Amazon
• Ericsson

July 22, 2026: Monday.com cuts 20% of its workforce to restructure for the AI era

The company says the decision to cut 620 jobs isn’t about margins, but about creating a flatter organization built around AI agents, autonomous teams, and deeper customer engagement.

July 6, 2026: Microsoft cuts 4,800 jobs, primarily in sales and Xbox teams

As the company trims thousands of jobs, it’s also investing in embedded engineering teams and AI infrastructure. The layoffs come several weeks after the company offered 8,750 US employees voluntary retirement buyouts.

June 5, 2026: Tech industry cut 38,242 jobs in May, worst since 2024

AI was blamed for 40% of the job cuts in May, up from 7% in January, according to research by employment placement company Challenger, Gray & Christmas.

May 20, 2026: Meta cuts 8,000 jobs, around 10% of workforce

The cuts are expected to expected to hit Meta’s engineering and product teams the hardest, arriving as Meta pivots toward AI to boost efficiency across its organization, according to Yahoo Tech.

May 13, 2026: Cisco to cut nearly 4,000 jobs despite strong growth in AI, enterprise networking

Despite reporting positive financial news — including record third-quarter revenue of $15.8 billion, a 12% year-over-year increase — Cisco said it will eliminate almost 4,000 jobs.

May 7, 2026: Cloudflare to cut 1,100 jobs in AI-focused restructuring

About 20% of Cloudflare’s global workforce will be culled as the company pivots for the agentic AI era, Reuters reported.

April 1, 2026: Oracle to cut up to 30,000 jobs globally, putting enterprise support and roadmaps at risk

Oracle began laying off employees on March 31 in what could be the largest workforce reduction in the company’s history. Employees received termination emails at 6 a.m. local time with immediate system lockouts and no prior warning. (Note: in June, CNBC put the final layoff tally at 21,000.)

March 12, 2026: Atlassian cuts 1,600 jobs to fund AI and enterprise expansion

Atlassian will reduce its global workforce by approximately 10%, eliminating around 1,600 roles, as the collaboration software maker redirects capital toward artificial intelligence development and enterprise sales.

March 11, 2026: Tech layoffs surpass 45,000 in early 2026

A recent analysis by RationalFX found 45,363 job cuts globally so far this year—with roughly 68% or more than 30,000 occurring in the U.S. — highlighting ongoing workforce cuts even as many tech companies report strong revenue growth.

February 10, 2026: Salesforce lays off staffers as executive leadership churn continues

Salesforce has reduced close to 1,000 roles earlier this month across teams, including marketing, product management, data analytics, and its Agentforce AI unit, Business Insider reported, quoting employees familiar with the matter.

January 23, 2026: Amazon layoffs expected to disproportionately hit AWS and tech talent

As the market slows down, AWS and other Amazon units are preparing for another round of layoffs, which is expected to overwhelmingly impact tech talent. An email from HR leader Beth Galetti on Jan. 28 confirmed 16,000 job cuts.

January 15, 2026: Ericsson plans to shed 1,600 jobs in Sweden

 Ericsson lans to cut some 1,600 jobs in Sweden, the telecommunications equipment maker said doubling down on recent cost-saving measures that have helped it weather a prolonged downturn in telecoms spending, Reuters reports.

January 13, 2026: Meta plans to cut around 10% of employees in Reality Labs business

Meta plans to cut around 10% of the employees in its Reality Labs division who work on products including the metaverse, according to three people with knowledge of the discussions, according to The New York Times.

Layoffs in 2025

• Cisco
• Oracle
• Windsurf
• Intel
• Microsoft
• Crowdstrike
• HPE
• Autodesk
• HPE
• CISA
• Workday
• Salesforce
• Meta

Global tech-sector layoffs surpass 244,000 in 2025

Economic uncertainty, elevated interest rates, and AI adoption have driven workforce reductions across tech companies worldwide, according to a RationalFX report.

October 28, 2025: Amazon to cut 14,000 jobs across company

Amazon will reduce its overall workforce by 14,000, cutting layers of management across the company and hiring in some areas to support its “biggest bets”.

August 18, 2025: Cisco and Oracle to cut hundreds of Bay Area jobs

Tech companies Cisco and Oracle are cutting hundreds of jobs across the Bay Area. Cisco will eliminate 221 positions at its Milpitas and San Francisco offices, effective Oct. 13. Oracle is reducing 101 positions in Santa Clara on the same date 

August 5, 2025: 3 weeks after acquiring Windsurf, Cognition offers staff the exit door

Cognition, the AI coding startup that acquired rival company Windsurf three weeks ago, laid off 30 employees last week and is offering buyouts to the roughly 200 remaining employees on the team, reports The Information.

July 25, 2025, Intel to lay off 22% of workforce, CEO Tan signals ‘no more blank checks’

Intel will reduce its workforce to 75,000 employees by the end of 2025 as new CEO Lip-Bu Tan implements sweeping changes designed to transform the struggling chipmaker

July 8, 2025, Intel layoffs begin: Chipmaker is cutting many thousands of jobs

Intel has begun laying off employees across the company. CEO Lip-Bu Tan told workers back in April to expect major layoffs at Intel in the coming months as the chipmaker slashes costs and overhauls its organization after years of technical setbacks and falling sales.

July 2, 2025: Microsoft will cut 9,000 workers

Microsoft will lay off about 9,000 employees, a source familiar with the workforce cut told CNBC.  The cuts will reportedly affect less than 4% of Microsoft’s global workforce and will impact different teams, geographies and levels of experience. This is the latest in a string of cuts the tech giant has made this year.

June 17, 2025: Intel looks to factory layoffs to return to profitability

Intel will lay off up to 20% of its manufacturing sector employees starting in July, according to media reports, as the company looks for options as it seeks a return to profitability. The cuts reportedly will be made around the world, but some of the layoffs will be closer to home, according to a report in The Oregonian citing an internal company memo from Intel manufacturing Vice President Naga Chandrasekaran.

May 7, 2025: CrowdStrike to lay off 5% of staff

CrowdStrike announced a plan to cut about 500 roles, roughly 5% of its workforce, to streamline operations and reduce costs. The cybersecurity company will incur about $36 million to $53 million in charges related to the layoffs

March 6, 2025: HPE cuts 2,500 jobs, remains committed to Juniper buy

CEO Antonio Neri told Wall Street analysts that HPE would begin implementing a cost-cutting program involving layoffs of about 2,500 employees over the next 18 months. HPE employs about 61,000 people worldwide.

Feb. 27, 2025: Autodesk to lay off 9% of workforce

Software maker Autodesk is laying off 1,350 staff. With the rise of subscription and multi-year contracts billed annually, and self-service enablement, it finds it needs fewer sales staff, CEO Andrew Anagnost said in a message to employees. And with its cloud, platform, and AI products proving most profitable, it’s concentrating its staff and investments there.

Feb. 27, 2025: HP to lay off 2,000 more

As part of an ongoing restructuring, HP plans to lay off up to another 2,000 workers. In recent weeks, the company has tried — unsuccessfully — to do away with telephone support staff by forcing callers to wait for at least 15 minutes if they refuse to use self-service support resources online. The company swiftly backtracked, but wider job cuts are still on.

Feb. 21, 2025: CISA lays off 130

Government employees get laid off too: In this case, 130 workers at the US Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency are being shown the door as a result of a DOGE decision. Cybersecurity experts are concerned that the cuts will harm the international collaborations that CISA has fostered, quite apart from their concerns about the security of the DOGE layoff process itself.

Feb. 5, 2025: Workday lays off 1,750

As it moves to invest more in AI and international growth, Workday is laying off 8.5% of its workforce and disposing of unused office space. Some analysts fear the cutbacks will affect the company’s customer service — unless AI can pick up the slack.

Feb. 4, 2025: Salesforce lays off over 1,000

At the same time as it’s hiring sales staff for its new artificial intelligence products, Salesforce is laying off over 1,000 workers across the company, according to Bloomberg. As of June, 2024, the company had over 72,000 employees, according to its website. Salesforce did not comment on the report. In 2024 the company reportedly laid off around 1,000 staff too, in two waves: January and July.

Jan. 14, 2025: Meta will lay off 5% of workforce

Mark Zuckerberg told Meta employees he intended to “move out the low performers faster” in an internal memo reported by Bloomberg. The memo announced that the company will lay off 5% of its staff, or around 3,600 staff, beginning Feb. 10. The company had already reduced its headcount by 5% in 2024 through natural attrition, the memo said. Among those leaving the company will be staff previously responsible for fact checking of posts on its social media platforms in the US, as the company begins relying on its users to police content.

Tech layoffs in 2024

• Equinix
• AMD
• Freshworks
• Cisco
• General Motors
• Intel
• OpenText
• Microsoft
• AWS
• Dell

Nov. 26, 2024: Equinix to cut 3% of staff

Despite intense demand for its data center capacity, Equinix is planning to lay off 3% of its workforce, or around 400 employees. The announcement followed the appointment of Adaire Fox-Martin to replace Charles Meyers as CEO and the departures of two other senior executives, CIO Milind Wagle and CISO Michael Montoya.

Nov. 13, 2024: AMD to cut 4% of workforce

AMD will lay off around 1,000 employees as it pivots towards developing AI-focused chips, it said. The move came as a surprise to staff, as the company also reported strong quarterly earnings.

Nov. 7, 2024: Freshworks lays off 660

Enterprise software vendor Freshworks laid off around 660 staff, or around 13% of its headcount, despite reporting increased revenue and profits in its fourth fiscal quarter. The company described the layoffs as a realignment of its global workforce.

Sept. 17, 2024: Cisco lays off 6,000

After laying off around 4,200 staff in February, Cisco is at it again, laying off another 6,000 or around 7% of its workforce. Among the divisions affected were its threat intelligence unit, Talos Security.

Aug. 20, 2024: General Motors lays off 1,000 software staff

More than 1,000 software and services staff are on the way out at General Motors, signalling that it could be rethinking its digital transformation strategy. In an internal memo, the company said that it was moving resources to its highest-priority work and flattening hierarchies.

August 1, 2024: Intel removes 15,000 roles

Intel plans to cut its workforce by around 15% to reduce costs after a disastrous second quarter. Revenue for the three months to June 29 stagnated at around $12.8 billion, but net income fell 85% to $83 million, prompting CEO Pat Gelsinger to bring forward a company-wide meeting in order to announce that 15,000 staff would lose their jobs. “This is an incredibly hard day for Intel as we are making some of the most consequential changes in our company’s history,” Gelsinger wrote in an email to staff, continuing: “Our revenues have not grown as expected — and we’ve yet to fully benefit from powerful trends, like AI. Our costs are too high, our margins are too low. We need bolder actions to address both — particularly given our financial results and outlook for the second half of 2024, which is tougher than previously expected.”

July 4, 2024: OpenText to lay off 1,200

OpenText said it will lay off 1,200 staff, or about 1.7% of its workforce, in a bid to save around $100 million annually. It plans to hire new sales and engineering staff in other areas in 2025, it said.

June 4, 2024: Microsoft lays off staff in Azure division

Microsoft laid off staff in several teams supporting its cloud services, including Azure for Operations and Mission Engineering. The company didn’t say exactly how many staff were leaving.

April 4, 2024: Amazon downsizes AWS in a fresh cost-cutting round

Amazon announced hundreds of layoffs in the sales and marketing teams of its AWS cloud services division — and also in the technology development teams for its physical retail stores, as it stepped back from efforts to generalize the “Just Walk Out” technology built for its Amazon Fresh grocery stores.

April 1, 2024: Dell acknowledges 13,000 job cuts

Dell Technologies’ latest 10K filing with the US Securities and Exchange Commission disclosed that the company had laid off 13,000 employees over the course of the 2023 fiscal year; it characterized the layoffs and other reorganizational moves as cost-cutting measures. “These actions resulted in a reduction in our overall headcount,” the company said. A comparison to the previous year’s 10K filing, performed by The Register, found that Dell employed 133,000 people at that point, compared to 120,000 as of February 2024. Dell announced layoffs of 6,650 staffers on Feb. 6, but it is unclear whether those cuts were reflected in the numbers from this year’s 10K statement.

See news of earlier layoffs.

Jobs involving physical labor are at high risk of disruption from automation, with new technologies such as AI robots becoming more prevalent, according to a recent study by the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD). That means workers in construction and extraction, farming, fishing, forestry, production and material transportation could be affected by fast-moving technology changes.

“Routine and low-skilled jobs are at higher risk,” the Paris-based public policy group said, adding that “overall, jobs requiring non-routine cognitive, social and creative skills are less susceptible to automation.”

The kinds of creative and cognitive jobs still thought to be less exposed to automation include social work and community service roles. 

OECD also said management jobs — which often require workers to devise creative answers to solve problems — fall within the creative and cognitive category. “While AI has made some high-skill job requirements more susceptible to automation, many critical skills in these roles remain difficult to automate,” OECD said.

The same still holds true for some physical and manual labor jobs – including cleaners, agricultural workers, food-prep assistants, and laborers — which are less exposed to the affects of AI, OECD said.  

But people who work in programming, translating and interpretation positions could find their work affected by the quick rise of AI tools and services. According to the organization, global AI uptake rose from 7% in 2021 to 20% in 2025.

“In these occupations, GenAI could perform a significant share of tasks at least twice as fast today or in the near future,” OECD said.

The effects of the AI boom are not always uniform across industries or regions. In a separate 2026 Employment Outlook study released by the group, exposure to disruption from generative AI (genAI) ranges from about 16% in some areas to more than 70% elsewhere, depending on industries and occupations. 

Numerous research firms have said in recent years that AI is driving short-term job losses, though tech industry experts and analysts have argued AI will also create new careers and jobs as agentic AI takes over low-skilled work. 

AI technology has become so ubiquitous that it’s been compared to electricity — virtually all companies will need it or at least know how to use it. But it’s adoption has been hindered at times as companies struggle to find ROI from its use, and by regulatory and ethical hurdles.

In the US, AI blamed for June job losses

According to a Challenger, Gray & Christmas study released earlier this month, AI was cited as the top reason for job cuts in June. The outplacement firm said employers cut 45,849 job cuts in June, of which 14,029 were attributed to AI, with the tech industry leading the cuts.

“Tech remains the epicenter of this year’s cuts,” Challenger said. “AI is the dominant force as companies are restructuring around it, automating roles, and reallocating budgets toward new capabilities. The sector is being reshaped in real time.”

Overall, AI has been responsible for 173,568 job cuts since 2021, the company said.

AI is hurting jobs in customer service, internal reporting, telecommunications, and hosting automation, said Victor Janulaitis, a staffing consultant who was formerly CEO at Janco Associates Inc.

“C-level executives continue to be focused on eliminating ‘non-essential’ managers, staff, and services,” he said. “Coders and developers have limited opportunities with legacy applications.”

While jobs in the IT sector overall are declining, current hiring tends to skew in the direction of people with AI skills. A report this month by CompTIA put job listings with AI skills at around 500,000, which is close to double the number in January.

“Employers in other industries are accelerating digital transformation initiatives and moving from AI experimentation to implementation,” said Seth Robinson, CompTIA’s vice president for industry research.

That view dovetails with what ManpowerGroup, the recruitment firm, is seeing; demand for AI-related skills has nearly doubled over the past year, said Ger Doyle, regional president of North America at ManpowerGroup.

That growth extends well beyond traditional technology roles as companies move from experimenting to AI deployments at scale, Doyle said. “We’re seeing it influence hiring across occupations ranging from data science and engineering to project management and operational roles,” he said.