NEW YORK - IBM announced Tuesday it would be laying off thousands of employees before the end of the year.

The job losses will amount to a “low single-digit percentage” of the global workforce. For a 1 percent cut, that would mean the loss of 2,700 jobs.

Why it matters

Many companies have implemented layoffs as a way to boost profits and increase efficiency as they head into new financial quarters.

Meta, for instance, announced it plans to cut roughly 600 roles from its AI team as business priorities shift.

What to know

While IBM had 270,000 global workers at the end of 2025, a single-digit percentage layoff would mean thousands of employees would no longer have jobs at the end of the year.

“In the fourth quarter, we are executing an action that will impact a low single-digit percentage of our global workforce,” a company spokesperson told CNBC. “While this may impact some U.S.-based roles, we anticipate that our U.S. employment will remain flat year over year.”

Many tech companies have reduced their employee headcounts, focusing on artificial intelligence tools to boost productivity even with fewer workers.

In October, Amazon announced layoffs for 14,000 corporate employees, and Meta will be letting 600 workers in its AI unit go.

IBM previously reported a 10 percent jump in revenue from software last month, but the larger sector is facing uncertainty from several directions, experts say.

“The current environment is filled with uncertainty, and many companies may feel like this is the perfect opportunity to get rid of what some believe to be pandemic bloat,” Kevin Thompson, the CEO of 9i Capital Group and the host of the 9innings podcast, told Newsweek. “Many companies were forced to keep staff for longer than they had hoped and perhaps this would allow them to thin their workforce.”

What happens next

Business experts say workers should expect a continuing spree of layoff announcements as we near the end of the year.

“As we move toward the end of the year, expect more layoff announcements,” Thompson said. “Year-end is traditionally when companies evaluate performance, tighten operations, and adjust forecasts for the year ahead.” (Source: Newsweek)

Story Date: November 5, 2025