The tech industry is going through a reset. Not a slow correction, but a sharp, visible shift. One that's showing up in layoff numbers and the kind of roles being cut.
In 2026 alone, layoffs have already crossed 73,000 roles across 95 companies. Big names like Meta, Oracle, and Microsoft together impacted tens of thousands of employees in just a single month.
advertisement
❮❯
But those numbers only tell you what's happening. They don't explain how decisions are being made. Because something about layoffs has changed.
What We Know So Far
A large part of the current wave is tied to companies redirecting money toward artificial intelligence and infrastructure. Oracle's recent cuts, widely reported in March, were linked in part to freeing up resources for AI data centres.
At the same time, conversations inside the industry have shifted. Several laid-off employees have suggested that decisions felt less like individual calls and more like the output of a system, one that seemed to favour cutting higher-cost roles first, especially those with stock-heavy compensation.
There is no official confirmation of a layoff algorithm. But the pattern people are pointing to is hard to ignore.
Layer on top of that a long-standing issue. Age. Surveys across the tech sector consistently show that a majority of professionals believe age bias still exists!
Put together, it paints a clear picture. Professionals in their 40s and 50s, especially those in senior individual contributor roles, with higher salaries and roles not directly tied to revenue, are finding themselves increasingly exposed.
The Quiet Shift In How Layoffs Happen
This is not entirely new. Companies have always looked at costs during restructuring. What is different now is how systematic it has become. Instead of one-off decisions, many companies now rely on internal models to guide workforce cuts. Not necessarily a dramatic AI deciding your fate scenario, but structured, data-heavy decision-making.
The logic, according to recruiters and insiders, is fairly straightforward.
Cost of the employee versus their proximity to revenue.
Ankur Agarwal, a recruitment and career management professional with over two decades of experience, puts it bluntly:
Large organisations don't really do layoffs the old way any more. They optimise. There is always a model running in the background. The further your role is from revenue, the more vulnerable you are, especially if you are expensive.
That explains a pattern many are now seeing. The people most at risk are not necessarily underperformers. They are often the ones whose work is hardest to tie directly to revenue and who cost the most.
Who Gets Hit First
advertisement
In practice, this tends to flag a certain kind of profile. 1) Mid-to-senior individual contributors, 2) Roles in support functions like HR, marketing, or internal operations, and 3) professionals several layers removed from client or revenue-facing teams.
Their work is often critical, but not always easy to quantify in immediate financial terms.
Agarwal adds another layer to this, Companies like Oracle have a long history of acquisitions. When two teams do similar work, duplication gets removed. And when that happens, cost becomes a deciding factor very quickly.
The further you are from a paying client, the higher your risk.
So the list does not start with the weakest employees. It often starts with the most expensive to justify.
VOICES FROM THE FRONTLINES
Behind all the frameworks and models are real people trying to make sense of what has just happened to them. Dhanya Mehra, 48, a former marketing manager with Oracle India, describes the moment this shift hit home I always thought experience would count for something. But when I was laid off, it felt like none of that mattered. I was just a number on a cost sheet.
Panna Das, 52, a project lead, had a similar experience, You are told your experience is valuable for years. But in the end, it does not feel like that is what decisions are based on.
advertisement
What stands out in both accounts is not just the job loss, but the confusion around why.
AND THEN THERE IS AGE
Ageism in tech is not new, but in a cost-focused environment, it can become more visible. Industry surveys suggest a large percentage of professionals believe age bias exists. Some even say it starts earlier than expected, with workers in their late 20s already feeling pressure to stay relevant.
During layoffs, older employees can be at a disadvantage. They are often paid more, may be further from hands-on execution roles, and can face a tougher market when trying to re-enter.
Agarwal outlines a few high-risk signals
- Compensation significantly above market or perceived output
- Senior individual contributors without team management responsibilities
- Roles not directly linked to revenue
- Being based in high-cost locations
- Skills that are widely available in the market.
He sums it up in one line: The only people genuinely surprised are the ones who confuse being busy with being valuable...
PRACTICAL TAKEAWAYS
If there is one shift employees need to understand, it is this. Visibility of impact matters more than ever. Start by asking yourself how close your role is to revenue. If the answer is not obvious, it is worth working on how you communicate your contribution.
advertisement
Upskilling also needs to be more targeted. It is not about collecting certifications, but about building skills that companies are actively investing in, with AI being the most obvious right now. Equally important is showing measurable impact. Not just being busy, but being able to point to outcomes.
And then there is networking, not as a last resort, but as an ongoing habit. Opportunities today move faster than job postings. Finally, flexibility helps. Geography, role scope, even industry shifts. Being open can make a real difference in a market that is clearly prioritising efficiency.
What's changing isn't just who gets laid off, but how quietly and systematically your value is being judged long before you even see it coming.
Published By:
Deebashree Mohanty
Published On:
Apr 27, 2026 18:30 IST
Must Watch
The tech industry is going through a reset. Not a slow correction, but a sharp, visible shift. One that's showing up in layoff numbers and the kind of roles being cut.
In 2026 alone, layoffs have already crossed 73,000 roles across 95 companies. Big names like Meta, Oracle, and Microsoft together impacted tens of thousands of employees in just a single month.
advertisement
❮❯
But those numbers only tell you what's happening. They don't explain how decisions are being made. Because something about layoffs has changed.
Published On:
Apr 27, 2026 18:30 IST
Must Watch
