AI layoffs this week: May 12, 2025 – May 18, 2025

The largest event of the week was Microsoft, with 6,000 roles cut (~3% of global workforce, heavily hitting software engineers and management layers. Microsoft attributed cuts to organizational streamlining, not AI; press and analysts widely linked them to the $80B AI capex push and AI coding gains.). Across the week, cuts touched finance, technology, education.

At least one event this week was later walked back. Walk-backs stay in the ledger, flagged, so the record is honest about reversals.

Every figure below links to its company timeline and public source. Attribution labels follow the methodology.