Samwise High Tech Recruiting Newsletter
Wednesday, August 12, 2026
2026 Tech Layoffs Pace Reaches 175,000 Workers as Rapid7 Makes Latest Cut
The tech industry has logged 524 layoff events in 2026, displacing 175,196 workers at a pace of 786 per day, according to the TrueUp layoff tracker. If sustained, 2026 will approach the full-year 2025 total of 245,953 workers impacted across 783 events. The most recent addition: Rapid7, the cybersecurity firm, which cut 300 employees — 12 percent of its workforce — on August 10. The layoff wave spans enterprise software, consumer tech, and financial services with no signs of easing as companies continue restructuring for AI-first operations and displacing workers into an already crowded talent pool.
Sources: TrueUp Layoffs Tracker
AI Skills Now Appear in 79 Percent of Tech Job Postings as Agentic AI Demand Surges
Artificial intelligence requirements now appear in 79 percent of US tech job postings, up from 75 percent in June and up 144 percent year over year, according to Dice’s August 2026 tech jobs report. Demand for agentic AI, AI agents, and responsible AI skills has grown more than 200 percent year over year, signaling a shift from AI experimentation to full-scale operationalization. Insurance leads all sectors with tech postings up 66 percent month over month, followed by finance and banking at 39 percent. Overall tech postings fell 10 percent month over month in July but remain 10 percent above July 2025 levels.
Sources: Dice Tech Jobs Report
Etsy Cuts 12 Percent of Staff Despite Strong Q2 Earnings, CEO Says Move Is Not AI-Driven
Etsy laid off 220 employees — 12 percent of its workforce — on August 5, announcing the cuts alongside stronger-than-expected second-quarter results. Revenue reached $668.3 million, beating analyst estimates, while core marketplace sales rose 9.3 percent year over year. CEO Kruti Patel Goyal said the restructuring was not AI-driven but aimed at accelerating product development and sharpening competitive focus. Most reductions fell in product and engineering. Affected employees will receive at least 16 weeks of severance pay plus 12 months of healthcare coverage. Etsy simultaneously announced a $2 billion share buyback and will have approximately 1,600 employees once restructuring is complete.
Salesforce Names New COO and Engineering Chief in Sweeping C-Suite Overhaul
Salesforce reshuffled its top leadership on August 5 in one of its most significant executive changes in years. Marc Benioff promoted Miguel Milano — the company’s President and Chief Revenue Officer and a former Oracle executive — to Chief Operating Officer, with global responsibility for customer-facing growth. Simultaneously, Srini Tallapragada, who spent 14 years at Salesforce as head of engineering and customer success, departed and transitioned to a special advisor role. Rohan Kumar, a longtime Microsoft executive who joined Salesforce in June 2026, will become Chief Platform and Engineering Officer. The changes accelerate the CRM giant’s shift toward its Agentforce AI platform strategy.
US Economy Shed 23,000 Jobs in July, Missing Forecasts by 106,000 in Weakest Report in Years
The July 2026 US jobs report, released August 7, delivered a sharp miss: nonfarm payrolls fell 23,000 against a consensus forecast of plus 83,000. Government employment shed 53,000 positions, led by a 50,000 decline in local government education, while private payrolls rose just 30,000. The unemployment rate held at 4.1 percent as 264,000 workers exited the labor force, pushing participation to its lowest level since mid-1976 outside the Covid era. Average hourly earnings rose two cents, pulling the 12-month rate to 3.2 percent. May and June payrolls were revised down a combined 103,000, painting a broader picture of a cooling labor market.
Every newsletter preserved and searchable
Curated by JD · samwise.agency
Leave a Reply
You must be logged in to post a comment.