Financial activities and information sector payrolls fell by 28,000 jobs a month on average in 2026. Bloomberg tied the decline to accelerating AI adoption, citing government data.
Companies in both sectors have moved fastest to deploy artificial intelligence (AI) tools across coding, research, and back-office functions. The trend has held for several consecutive months.
AI Becomes the Leading Reason for Cuts
The pattern surfaced in a review of government payroll data published Wednesday. Separately, Challenger, Gray, and Christmas tracked 45,849 U.S. job cuts in June, the lowest monthly total since December 2025. Technology still led every sector, announcing 15,503 cuts for a year-to-date total of 139,156, up 83% from 2025.
AI has driven 101,743 layoffs so far this year, about 23% of all cuts the firm tracked. A BeInCrypto analysis found that AI-exposed sectors’ hiring reversal turned steady monthly growth into consistent job losses within months.
Andy Challenger, workplace expert at the firm, addressed the trend directly in the company’s latest report.
“…the cuts we are seeing remain concentrated in technology, and artificial intelligence continues to reshape how companies think about headcount,” Andy Challenger, said in the latest report.
The shift has already reached college campuses. Students are already ditching computer science degrees as entry-level tech hiring cools.
Individual Companies Show the Scale
Oracle, for instance, illustrates the trend at a single company level. The firm cut 21,000 positions, about 13% of its workforce, over the past 12 months. Oracle’s headcount fell to 141,000 from 162,000, and a regulatory filing blamed the adoption of AI technologies for the reduction.
Meanwhile, finance firms show a similar pattern. Robinhood recently moved to cut 10% of staff while restructuring around AI tools. Hollywood studios have slashed animation costs 90% using AI. The shift has already triggered thousands of film industry layoffs in California.
Not Everyone Agrees on the Cause
Some executives reject the AI explanation entirely. Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang has called the habit of blaming AI for layoffs lazy. He argues it makes little business sense to cut workers while companies are still learning to use the technology.
Not every corner of the market is losing out. AI trade chip winners are gaining as companies expand data center and semiconductor spending, even as other sectors cut staff. Public sentiment runs the other way. A recent survey on job fears found Americans rank AI job loss as their top concern. Jeff Bezos rejected AI job fears in recent remarks, arguing the technology will lift productivity instead.
Still, the gap between hard layoff data and executive messaging leaves an open question for the months ahead. Upcoming Challenger and Bureau of Labor Statistics reports will clarify the trend. They will show whether the 28,000 monthly pace holds or accelerates in the second half of 2026.
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