Samwise High Tech Recruiting Newsletter
Tuesday, August 11, 2026
2026 Tech Layoffs Surpass 175,000 Workers as AI-Driven Restructuring Continues at Record Pace
Tech companies have shed 175,196 workers across 524 separate layoff events so far in 2026, according to TrueUp’s Layoffs Tracker, with 2026 totals already surpassing 2025’s full-year count of approximately 122,606 workers, according to Crunchbase News. Oracle accounts for 21,000 of those eliminations over the past 12 months per its annual filing, followed by Amazon at 16,000, Meta at 8,000, Microsoft at 4,800—including 1,600 from its Xbox division—and Cisco at approximately 4,000. InformationWeek’s running 2026 tracker identifies AI-driven restructuring as the primary stated driver, with companies eliminating roles in sales, customer support, and back-office operations while investing heavily in AI infrastructure.
Sources: TrueUp · Crunchbase News · InformationWeek
Dice August 2026 Report: AI Skills Now Appear in 79% of U.S. Tech Job Postings
AI skill requirements appeared in 79 percent of U.S. tech job postings analyzed in July, up from 75 percent in June and 144 percent higher than July 2025, according to Dice’s August 2026 Tech Jobs Report. The report, drawn from more than 7 million job postings, found overall tech posting volume fell 10 percent month-over-month in July but remained 10 percent above year-ago levels. The fastest-growing skill categories include Agentic AI, Responsible AI, AI Agents, Vector Database, and Prompt Engineering—each growing more than 200 percent year-over-year. The insurance sector led all industries in July with a 66 percent month-over-month gain in tech job postings.
Sources: Dice Insights
CACI, ManTech, and MITRE Fill Senior Tech Leadership Roles in August Shuffle
Defense-adjacent IT firms filled a cluster of senior leadership roles this week, according to Washington Technology’s August 10 roundup of talent moves across the market. Marcie Small was promoted to chief human resources officer at CACI International after 15 years with the company, succeeding Angie Combs, who retired after seven years in the role. Scott Keenan joined ManTech as vice president of growth for its defense and space sector, moving from a managing director position in public sector growth at Verizon. Glenn Daly was elevated to vice president of engineering and analysis at MITRE Corp., where he will lead the organization’s new Center for Engineering and Analysis.
Sources: Washington Technology
OPM Directs Federal Agencies to Center Annual Staffing Plans on Tech Recruiting
The Office of Personnel Management has issued new guidance requiring federal agencies to make technology talent acquisition a central element of their annual staffing plans, according to Government Executive and Nextgov/FCW. Agencies must reserve budget and positions for specialists in artificial intelligence, cybersecurity, software engineering, and data science based on mission requirements rather than historical staffing levels. OPM pointed to two existing pipelines: Tech Force, the administration’s early-career engineering program with approximately 300 of its 1,000-participant goal filled to date; and Scholarship for Service, recently updated to emphasize AI competency. Final agency staffing plans are due to OPM and OMB by September 30, 2026.
Sources: Government Executive · Nextgov/FCW
Levels.fyi Data Reveals Wide AI Engineer Compensation Spread Across Major Tech Employers
Total compensation for AI engineers varies dramatically across major tech companies, with OpenAI leading the market at a median of $850,000 per year in total compensation, according to current Levels.fyi data. Scale AI follows at a median of $376,000, while Microsoft AI engineers report a median of $280,000 and Google AI engineers earn a median of $255,000. The national median AI engineer salary across all employers sits at $159,430. IBM’s AI engineering roles, at a range of $151,000 to $261,000, represent the lower end among name-brand employers. The spread underscores the significant compensation premium that AI specialization commands across the industry.
Sources: Levels.fyi
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Curated by JD · samwise.agency
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