Tech Layoffs 2026: WARN Notices Show Tech Job Cuts Doubled While Other Layoffs Fell

Tech layoffs 2026, counted from the legal record: WARN Act notices filed in California, Washington and New York name 23,178 workers at tech employers from January to September 2026, up 99.7% from 11,609 in the same months of 2025. Layoffs at all other employers in the same filings fell 23%.

The best-known layoff trackers tally cuts reported in the press. This one counts notices that employers are legally required to file before a mass layoff, using the notice files that California’s Employment Development Department, Washington’s Employment Security Department and New York’s Department of Labor publish. We matched every employer name against a published list of 108 tech companies (the full list is in the methodology) and summed the workers each notice names.

Tech workers in WARN notices, week by week in 2026

Seven-day periods starting January 1, 2026, through October 7. Workers summed across all sites in each notice. Hover a bar for the employers behind it. New York’s newest weeks fill in as the state posts notices, which can take several weeks.

The year has come in waves rather than a steady drip. The biggest week was driven by Meta, which filed for 4,665 workers that week. Amazon’s corporate notices in late January and Meta’s notices in May together make January (5,515) and May (6,723) the two heaviest months. The largest single notice of 2026 is Meta in California on May 26, covering 2,599 workers across 3 sites.

Tech layoffs 2026 vs 2025

Tech workers in WARN notices by month, California, Washington and New York combined. October to December 2026 not yet available.

Compared month for month, January to September 2026 named 2.00 times as many tech workers as the same months of 2025. Part of the reason 2025 looks lighter is timing: Amazon’s large corporate cut landed in October 2025, when its notices in the three states named 4,130 workers, and the fourth quarter of 2025 alone added 6,544 tech workers. Even counting all of 2025 (18,153 tech workers), the first nine months of 2026 have already passed the full-year total.

The rise is specific to tech. Across every employer in the same notice files, workers named fell from 107,656 to 96,794, so non-tech layoffs dropped 23% while tech layoffs roughly doubled. For a broader view of hiring, quits and layoffs across the information sector, our analysis of the tech job market in 2026 from BLS JOLTS data tracks the federal survey numbers.

The mix has shifted. Internet and platform companies went from 1,333 workers to 13,464, almost all of it Meta and Amazon. Chips and hardware fell, from 3,335 to 2,280, after a 2025 in which Intel alone filed for 1,590 workers in those months. Microsoft, Amazon, Meta, Google and Apple together account for 10,889 workers in January to September 2026 notices against 3,503 in the same months of 2025.

Which companies are doing layoffs in 2026?

The leaderboard ranks tech employers by workers named in their 2026 WARN notices in the three states, through October 7. A company that files one notice per building appears once here, with all sites added together.

1. 1MetaCA WA · Internet and platforms5,736
2. 2Amazon (corporate offices)CA NY WA · Internet and platforms4,085
3. 3OracleCA NY WA · Software and games2,039
4. 4IntuitCA · Software and games910
5. 5MicrosoftWA · Software and games882
6. 6LinkedInCA · Internet and platforms606
7. 7UberCA WA · Internet and platforms556
8. 8LeeMAH ElectronicsCA · Chips and hardware479
9. 9CiscoCA · Chips and hardware471
10. 10eBayCA · Internet and platforms469
11. 11SnapCA WA · Internet and platforms415
12. 12ServiceNowCA · Software and games404
13. 13JabilCA · Chips and hardware382
14. 14AtlassianCA WA · Software and games315
15. 15WorkdayCA · Software and games296

States where each employer filed in 2026 and its category. Amazon counts corporate office notices only; Amazon Fresh stores and warehouses are excluded.

Where the notices were filed

January to September of each year. New York requires notice for layoffs of 25 or more at a site, half the 50-worker trigger in California and Washington, so its files hold many smaller non-tech layoffs.

California carries the most volume and the biggest swing: 15,029 tech workers in January to September 2026 notices, and tech’s share of all California WARN workers rose from 9% to 26%. In Washington, tech workers rose from 4,178 to 7,751, led by Amazon, Meta, Microsoft and Oracle. New York’s tech filings were flat and small in both years.

Will tech layoffs continue in 2026?

The notices answer part of this, because WARN requires warning before the cut. Notices already on file list 3,364 tech workers at 15 employers whose separations are dated after October 7, 2026, the end of our data. September 2026 brought 2,242 tech workers in new notices, compared with 1,316 in September 2025. That is a filing pace, not a forecast: a large notice from one company can move a month by thousands.

Where are IT services firms and MSPs?

Almost absent. IT services employers, meaning IT consulting, systems integration, IT staffing and managed services, account for 33 of the 23,178 tech workers in January to September 2026 notices (0.1%), down from 271 in the same months of 2025. That does not show managed service providers are holding headcount. WARN only sees cuts above a size threshold: California and Washington require a notice only when 50 or more workers lose jobs at a single site within 30 days, so layoffs at smaller IT firms do not appear here.

What this means for MSPs

Nine in ten tech workers in 2026 notices (90%) are at internet platforms and software companies, not at the infrastructure and services firms MSPs compete with. For MSPs hiring, the notices are a free, dated signal: each filing names the site and the date separations begin, and the law requires 60 days’ warning in California and Washington. Recruiting outreach can be timed to those dates rather than to headlines.

Do not read the platform cuts as a signal that IT operations work is shrinking at the same rate. The categories closest to MSP work barely appear in WARN filings, and roles differ: security work is projected to grow faster than IT support in the BLS outlook for IT and cybersecurity jobs. If a client files a notice, the separation date on the filing is also the deadline for offboarding: account removal, license reclaim and device recovery for every worker on the list.

All 2026 tech WARN notices

Every 2026 tech notice in the three states, one row per employer, state and filing date, with sites added together. Click a column heading to sort.

Filed is the date the state received the notice (California, Washington) or the notice date (New York). Separations begin is the earliest effective or layoff start date the notice gives.

What WARN data can and cannot tell you

WARN notices are legal filings, so they carry names, sites, dates and worker counts that press tallies often lack. They also have hard limits. A notice is required only for large layoffs: in California, at employers with 75 or more workers when 50 or more are laid off at a site within 30 days; in Washington, 50 or more full-time workers at one site; in New York, at employers with 50 or more full-time staff when 25 or more lose jobs at a site (or 250 or more), with 90 days’ notice. Smaller cuts, rolling performance exits and layoffs in other states are invisible here. This tracker covers three states only and is not a national total.

Frequently asked questions

How many tech layoffs have there been in 2026?

In California, Washington and New York, WARN notices filed from January to September 2026 name 23,178 workers at 61 tech employers, up from 11,609 in the same months of 2025. WARN covers only large site-level layoffs in states that publish notices, so this is a floor, not a national count.

Which companies are doing layoffs in 2026?

By workers named in 2026 WARN notices in the three states, the largest tech filers are Meta (5,736), Amazon (4,085), Oracle (2,039). Together Meta and Amazon’s corporate offices account for 42% of all tech workers in 2026 notices so far.

Are tech layoffs worse in 2026 than in 2025?

Yes, in the WARN record. Tech workers in notices rose 100% from January to September, while layoffs at all other employers in the same notices fell 23%. Tech’s share of all WARN workers rose from 10.8% to 23.9%.

Will tech layoffs continue in 2026?

Some already are scheduled. Notices on file at October 13 list 3,364 tech workers at 15 employers with separation dates after October 7. September 2026 notices named 2,242 tech workers, against 1,316 in September 2025.

Who is laying off 30,000 employees?

WARN data cannot confirm a company-wide figure. What the legal record shows: Amazon’s corporate office notices in California, Washington and New York cover 8,299 workers from October 2025 through October 2026, the largest of any tech employer in that span.

Are IT services companies and MSPs laying off staff?

Rarely at WARN scale. IT services employers account for 33 of the 23,178 tech workers in January to September 2026 notices (0.1%), across 3 notices. Most layoffs at small firms fall below the 50-worker site threshold that triggers a notice in California and Washington.

Methodology

References

1. California Employment Development Department, WARN Act notices and reports (including the federal and California WARN comparison). Accessed October 2026.
2. California EDD, current WARN report (xlsx). Accessed October 2026.
3. Washington Employment Security Department, WARN layoff and closure database. Accessed October 2026.
4. Washington Employment Security Department, WARN requirements. Accessed October 2026.
5. New York State Department of Labor, WARN dashboard. Accessed October 2026.
6. New York State Department of Labor, Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification. Accessed October 2026.
7. Texas Open Data Portal, WARN notices (reviewed, not used). Accessed October 2026.