IBM layoffs 2025: IBM has become the latest tech giant to announce job cuts, confirming that it will lay off thousands of employees before the end of the year, as per a report.

IBM Layoffs: May Cut 2,700 Jobs

The company said the reduction will affect a “low single-digit percentage” of its global workforce, as per a Newsweek report. With roughly 270,000 employees worldwide, even a 1% job cut translates to around 2,700 job losses.

An IBM spokesperson told CNBC that the move will impact a portion of US-based roles but added that overall employment in the United States is expected to remain flat year over year, as per the Newsweek report.

Why Are Tech Giants Like IBM, Meta, and Amazon Cutting Jobs

The announcement follows similar layoffs from other major tech firms, in October, Amazon revealed plans to cut 14,000 corporate roles, while Meta said about 600 workers from its AI team will lose their jobs as the company shifts its business priorities, as per the report.

Industry analysts say the wave of layoffs is part of a broader effort by large corporations to streamline operations and boost profits amid an uncertain economic environment, as per the report.

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Kevin Thompson, CEO of 9i Capital Group, told Newsweek that many companies are using this period to reassess their workforce. Thompson said, “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,” adding, “Many companies were forced to keep staff for longer than they had hoped and perhaps this would allow them to thin their workforce,” as quoted by Newsweek.

How Is IBM Performing Despite Layoffs

IBM, which recently reported a 10% rise in software revenue, is still facing sector-wide uncertainty. The company’s restructuring mirrors a growing industry trend where businesses are increasingly investing in artificial intelligence tools to improve productivity with smaller teams.

Is Artificial Intelligence Behind IBM’s Layoffs

Matt Bruno, chief revenue officer at Laivly, told Newsweek that the tech industry’s priorities are shifting. He said, “For the past few years, the industry’s been focused on building large, experimental AI teams,” adding, “We’ve seen that same evolution on the business side, especially in contact centers, where companies are moving from pilots to embedding AI directly into workflows that help agents make better decisions and improve performance,” as quoted by Newsweek.

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Alex Beene, a financial literacy instructor at the University of Tennessee at Martin, noted that while AI is often blamed for such layoffs, “it’s difficult to say based on the initial announcement if that’s in fact the case. The workforce in the United States for IBM actually remains flat year-over-year despite the cuts. Still, this is the latest in a series of major corporate job reductions that will further stoke fears of how technological advancements are going to lead to more job losses,” as quoted by Newsweek.

While, Thompson pointed out that, “Some divisions are being downsized because they rely on older, outdated technologies that no longer fit the direction the industry is heading. Others are being restructured or folded into different parts of the company,” as quoted in the report.

FAQs

Why is IBM laying off employees?
IBM is reducing its global workforce by a small percentage to improve efficiency amid economic uncertainty.

How many IBM employees could lose their jobs?
Roughly 2,700 employees could be affected, representing about 1% of IBM’s global workforce.