AI & Workforce

45,000 tech jobs gone — companies are blaming AI

Block cut 40% citing 'intelligence tools.' Amazon laid off 16,000. Meta planning 20%+.

February 23, 2026 4 min read

By late February 2026: over 45,000 tech jobs eliminated in ten weeks. Block cut 40% (4,000 people) — Jack Dorsey pointed directly at "intelligence tools." Amazon: 16,000 in second round. Oracle: $2.1B restructuring budget. Meta: 20%+ planned to fund AI capex. The "AI creates jobs" narrative is facing its first real test.

What's different

  1. Profits are fine. Revenue growing. Cuts for optimisation, not survival.
  2. Companies naming AI. Not "market conditions." Explicit workforce displacement.
  3. "Safe" roles cut. Software engineers, product managers — knowledge work supposed to be augmented, not replaced.

Goldman Sachs warning

AI could put 2.5% of US employment at risk — approximately 4 million jobs. Not future AGI. Current models available today.

What to do

  1. Don't assume roles are safe. Audit which tasks are automatable.
  2. Retrain before replacing. AI handles 70% — remaining 30% needs humans who no longer work there.
  3. Watch the productivity paradox. AI output needs human oversight.
  4. EU workers have more protection. But European companies may fall behind on efficiency.