Major tech layoffs in 2025: TCS, Microsoft & Intel restructure amid AI push

India’s Tata Consultancy Services (TCS) announced plans to cut approximately 12,000 jobs, representing roughly 2% of its global workforce of about 613,000 employees at the end of June 2025.

The reductions largely affect middle and senior management, as the company reevaluates roles it finds no longer deployable or in demand.

Unlike widespread perception, TCS CEO K. Krithivasan made clear that the layoffs are not directly due to AI productivity gains, but stem from skill mismatches and inability to redeploy certain staff effectively.

TCS has committed to supporting affected employees with severance packages, extended insurance coverage, and outplacement assistance, and assured that there won’t be any disruptions in client service delivery.

Following the announcement, TCS shares fell nearly 1.7% to ₹3,081 on the BSE.

Meanwhile, Microsoft is also reallocating beyond 15,000 positions in 2025 as part of its shift toward an AI-first operating model. CEO Satya Nadella acknowledged that the process has been emotionally challenging and likened it to a needed process of "unlearning" in a changing landscape.

Despite posting strong financial results, Nadella emphasized that transformation requires difficult choices and that layoffs may continue under evolving market conditions.

Under new CEO Lip-Bu Tan, Intel plans to eliminate approximately 24,000 jobs, about 15% of its workforce, reducing headcount to around 75,000 by the end of 2025.

As part of the restructuring, Intel is scrapping planned projects in Germany and Poland and shutting down assembly and testing operations in Costa Rica, while shifting operations to Vietnam and Malaysia and delaying its Ohio mega-fab expansion.

Tan highlighted the need to focus on core product lines and AI capabilities, scrap non-viable investments, and enforce cost discipline across R&D and facility planning.

According to industry analysts, over 94,000 tech workers globally were laid off in just the first half of 2025, as companies recalibrate amid AI disruption, economic uncertainty, talent mismatches, and oversizing from pandemic-era hiring surges.

TCS, Microsoft, and Intel are at the forefront of this trend, signaling a broader industry shift toward leaner, AI-driven operating models.