Samwise High Tech Recruiting Newsletter
Wednesday, June 10, 2026
AI Cited as Primary Driver Behind Nearly 40% of May Job Cuts
Employers cited artificial intelligence as the primary reason for nearly 40% of U.S. job cuts announced in May 2026, up from just 7% in January, according to a report by outplacement firm Challenger, Gray & Christmas. U.S. employers announced just over 97,000 job cuts in May. “AI is now the leading reason companies give for cutting jobs,” said Andy Challenger, the firm’s chief revenue officer. The AI share of layoff citations rose from 10% in February to 25% in March, 26% in April, and approximately 40% in May. Glassdoor chief economist Daniel Zhao cautioned that companies may be using AI as justification for cuts driven by other factors.
Sources: CNBC
Uber Cuts Recruiting and HR Staff by Nearly a Quarter Under New Leadership
Uber is cutting nearly a quarter of its people division, including recruiting and human resources staff, as the company moves to streamline under newly promoted President Jill Hazelbaker. CEO Dara Khosrowshahi said in a memo that “changes are necessary to maximize the effectiveness of the People team and the enormous potential ahead of us.” Hazelbaker, elevated to president and chief corporate affairs officer last month, described some segments as “complex and fragmented, with overlapping responsibilities, unclear ownership, and teams operating too far from the businesses and partners they support.” A spokesperson confirmed the cuts represent “well under 1%” of Uber’s approximately 34,000 employees.
Sources: CNBC
Banks Lay Groundwork for Mass AI-Driven Workforce Reductions
Banks across the financial sector are preparing for significant AI-driven workforce reductions, Bloomberg reported Sunday. HSBC CEO Georges Elhedery is betting on artificial intelligence to shrink the bank’s middle and back offices, with changes potentially affecting around 20,000 roles, or roughly 10% of its workforce. Bloomberg Intelligence analysts project global banks could cut as many as 200,000 jobs over the next three to five years as AI erodes white-collar work. Morgan Stanley separately estimates European banks could reduce headcount by as much as a fifth over the near term. Candidates at major financial institutions are already navigating initial screening rounds conducted by AI-powered software.
Sources: Bloomberg
GitLab Cuts 14% of Workforce to Scale AI Development Platform
GitLab has laid off approximately 350 employees, representing 14% of its workforce, as part of a restructuring to handle the demands of rapidly growing AI workloads. The company announced in May it would exit 22 countries, flatten management layers, and redirect investment toward research and development infrastructure. CEO Bill Staples noted that agentic workloads are stressing developer infrastructure “more than it was designed to handle.” Despite the workforce reduction, GitLab reported first-quarter revenue of $264 million, up 23% year-over-year, with gross margins of 88%. GitLab joins a growing list of tech firms including Amazon, Cisco, and Intuit that have cited AI transformation as justification for cutting jobs.
Sources: TechCrunch
Amazon Unveils AI Warehouse Robots as Engineers Protest Layoff-Investment Contradiction
Amazon unveiled a next-generation warehouse robot designed to respond to spoken commands from workers, capable of receiving natural language instructions to transport items through fulfillment centers. The company’s original Proteus model is already deployed across 25 U.S. fulfillment centers. Meanwhile, Amazon Web Services engineers rallied at the Seattle City Council, criticizing the company for cutting more than 30,000 corporate employees since October while committing $200 billion to AI infrastructure and data centers in 2026. Seattle officials unanimously approved a one-year limit on new mega data center construction. Amazon executive John Boumphrey contended that robotics have historically “driven up employment rather than the reverse,” noting demand for robotic technicians.
MediaTek Pledges Hiring Surge to Power AI Data Center Expansion
Taiwanese chipmaker MediaTek announced it will significantly increase hiring to support a push into new AI activities, bucking a broader industry trend of workforce reductions. The company is adding engineers in anticipation of strong revenue growth from its developing AI data center business, which Senior Vice President Vince Hu told Bloomberg Television he expects to multiply by 2027. MediaTek is also helping power Nvidia’s new PC chip, known as Spark, and reported strong order visibility for its data center business over the next several years. The hiring push highlights how semiconductor firms positioned in AI infrastructure are following a sharply different talent trajectory than software companies reducing headcount.
Sources: Bloomberg
Curated by JD · samwise.agency
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