Is AI taking over jobs worldwide? Microsoft's buyout offer raises fresh concerns as tech layoffs mount

Global technology giant Microsoft has offered voluntary buyouts to around 60,000 employees, in one of the latest signs of how the tech industry is reshaping its workforce amid a massive push into artificial intelligence (AI).

What makes the move concerning is its scale. Around 27 per cent of Microsoft's global workforce is eligible for the offer. The company had 223,000 full-time employees worldwide as of June 30, 2026, according to its annual filing.

Microsoft has not publicly attributed the move solely to AI. However, the timing is hard to ignore. The company is spending heavily on AI infrastructure, including data centres and computing capacity, while looking to contain costs. As tech giants pour money into the technology they believe will shape the future, their workforce is increasingly part of that equation.

And Microsoft is not alone. According to Layoffs.fyi, which tracks job cuts across the tech industry, more than 93,217 tech jobs in 2026 have been attributed to AI-related developments. The tracker has recorded more than 116 layoff events linked to AI this year. These include cuts made to fund AI investments, replace human work with automation, or respond to changes driven by the technology.

The reasons vary from company to company, but a common thread is emerging: businesses are restructuring their operations as they redirect resources towards AI.

Oracle, another technology giant, has cut around 21,000 jobs, or 13 per cent of its workforce, according to the tracker. Block, the financial technology company co-founded by Twitter co-founder Jack Dorsey, has also cut around 4,000 jobs, accounting for roughly 40 per cent of its workforce.

Amazon has cut 16,000 jobs, while Dell has reduced its workforce by 11,000. Meta has shed 10,400 positions, while Cisco and Uber have each cut around 4,000 and 3,300 jobs, respectively.

The numbers also point to how quickly AI has become part of the conversation around job cuts. Layoffs.fyi's tracker recorded around 10,030 tech job losses attributed to AI in 2024. By 2026, that figure had climbed to more than 93,000, or 69 per cent of total layoffs.

The bigger question is what this means for workers worldwide. AI promises to make businesses more productive and open up new opportunities. But as companies race to build their AI capabilities, workers are already feeling the impact of the changes.

The technology may be creating the jobs of tomorrow. For many employees, though, the uncertainty is about whether their jobs today will still exist.