Samwise High Tech Recruiting Newsletter
Sunday, July 26, 2026
Monday.com Cuts 20% of Workforce in AI-First Restructuring
Monday.com this week became the latest tech company to cite AI as a factor in major layoffs. The Tel Aviv-based work management software company filed an SEC 6-K disclosing it will lay off about 20% of its workforce — just over 600 employees — as part of a restructuring tied to its “ongoing transformation” and “AI-driven growth strategy.” Co-founder Eran Zinman told employees the move “was not made to reduce costs or replace people with AI,” framing it instead as adapting the organization to an AI-first vision. Monday.com expects $45–$55 million in net restructuring charges but still projects up to 20% year-over-year revenue growth for 2026.
Sources: TechCrunch
AI Labs Keep Hiring as Broader Tech Cuts Surge Past 140,000
As U.S. tech companies have slashed nearly 140,000 jobs since early 2026 — with Amazon, Oracle, Meta, and Microsoft alone accounting for almost 50,000 of those cuts — a sharply contrasting pattern is emerging at AI-native firms. According to Financial Times analysis cited by TechCrunch, AI-focused companies like Anthropic and OpenAI are hiring rapidly, absorbing talent shed from elsewhere in the industry. IBM, meanwhile, says it’s tripling its U.S. entry-level hiring for AI and hybrid-cloud roles, even as it simultaneously eliminates thousands of other positions. The divergence signals a bifurcating labor market: legacy tech roles contracting while AI fluency commands strong demand.
Sources: TechCrunch
Meta Moves 7,000 Employees Into AI Roles Amid Broader Restructuring
Meta cut approximately 8,000 employees this year while simultaneously shifting roughly 7,000 others into new AI-focused roles — a workforce strategy illustrating how Big Tech is restructuring around generative AI rather than simply shrinking. Financial Times analysis, cited in TechCrunch, found that companies explicitly naming AI as a reason for layoffs have underperformed the Nasdaq by almost 10% in the 30 trading days following such announcements — suggesting markets are skeptical of AI-framed workforce cuts. For recruiters, the Meta example captures the defining talent trend of 2026: simultaneous role elimination and role transformation happening within the same enterprise.
Sources: TechCrunch
Curated by JD · samwise.agency