AI-Driven Efficiency Push Sparks Job Cuts Across Multiple U.S. Sectors

Less than 30 days into 2026, U.S. companies across sectors have announced layoffs as they cut costs and simplify operations in the backdrop of rising adoption of artificial intelligence tools.

On Wednesday, tech giant Amazon became the latest, cutting 16,000 roles worldwide in the second major round of job cuts at the company in three months.

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Here are some of the U.S. companies that have announced job cuts so far in 2026:

Technology

(Company | Date | Number of Jobs | Percent of Workforce)

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Pinterest | January | Less than 780 jobs | Less than 15% of workforce
Reallocating resources toward artificial intelligence–focused roles and strategy.

Autodesk | January | About 1,000 jobs | Roughly 7% of workforce
Redirecting spending toward its cloud platform and artificial intelligence efforts.

Meta* | January | Unknown | About 10% of Reality Labs division
Shifting focus toward wearables from some virtual reality products.

Amazon | January | About 16,000 jobs | Nearly 10% of corporate workforce
Part of a broader plan to cut roughly 30,000 corporate roles.

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Angi | January | About 350 jobs | Unknown
AI-driven efficiency improvements.

Consumer and Retail

Nike** | January | 775 jobs | Unknown
Consolidating operations and physical footprint.

Resources

Tronox | January | 550 jobs | Unknown
Fuzhou pigment plant closure in China due to weak domestic demand and rising costs.

Manufacturing and Logistics

FedEx | January | Up to 500 jobs | Unknown
Overhauling operations and trimming station footprint in France.

United Parcel Service (UPS) | January | Up to 30,000 jobs | Unknown
Reducing low-margin Amazon delivery volumes.

Finance

Citigroup*** | January | About 1,000 jobs | Unknown
Part of a previously announced plan to shed 20,000 jobs by 2026.

* Meta plans to cut around 10% of the employees in its Reality Labs division who work on products including the metaverse, according to a New York Times report.

** Nike is laying off 775 employees, primarily impacting distribution center roles in Tennessee and Mississippi, a source familiar with the matter told Reuters. 

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*** Citigroup will cut about 1,000 jobs as part of a plan announced two years ago to reduce the workforce by 20,000, a source familiar with the matter told Reuters.

(Reporting by Arasu Kannagi Basil in Bengaluru; Editing by Sahal Muhammed)

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