The main reason behind the recent wave of layoffs is the rapid development of artificial intelligence (AI) technology. According to Layoffs.fyi, the number of layoffs in the tech sector has reached 106,630 as of 12 July.

• Intuit (INTU) : US-based tax preparation software company Intuit recently announced that it will be laying off 1,800 employees and plans to replace them in the future with new hires with the ability to work with AI. The layoffs cover a wide range of areas including product, engineering, customer success, marketing and sales.
• UiPath (PATH): Robotic process automation (RPA) company UiPath announced on 8 July that it is laying off approximately 10% of its workforce globally, or 420 positions, and shifting its focus to business development of generative AI technologies.
• OpenText (OTEX) : Information management software company OpenText plans to cut 1,200 jobs on 3 July, while it expects to add 800 new positions across sales, professional services and engineering.

This follows massive layoffs at ByteDance, Microsoft (MSFT), Apple (AAPL) and Meta (META).

The layoffs at the above companies reflect the trend of AI technology driving efficiency gains and business model changes across industries. As technology advances, the use of AI will continue to impact the labour market, especially in companies that rely heavily on automated and intelligent workflows.