No one likes to be fired, but it’s a reality of life in the fast-paced technology and telecom industries.
No matter how you feel about AI and the future of work, it’s undeniable that companies are starting to think differently about their human workforces. With this tracker, we are keeping tabs on mass layoffs in the very industries that enable the AI revolution.
We also recognize that all layoffs aren’t created equally. This list is a compilation of the most consequential mass layoffs in the tech and telecom industries this year. Rest assured we will keep tabs on company headcounts as they are made public.
For those watching for layoff trends in 2026, we hope this list will help you make sense of the employment landscape. And for those who have been the subject of layoffs this year, we hope this list will help you see that you aren’t alone.
If you think we missed something, send us an email at fiercenetwork@questex.com. We will continue to update this story throughout the year.
Jan. 15 — Ericsson cuts 1,600 from Swedish workforce
Ericsson announced on Jan. 15 that it would reduce its workforce by 12% in its home country.
The Swedish telco said the move is just one of the “initiatives to increase operational efficiency” it’s taking across the business. The latest cuts are a continuance of the company’s March 2024 layoffs, which axed 1,200 employees from its Sweden business.
Ericsson’s job cuts are in-step with its Nordic rival, Nokia’s, plans to shutter its Munich office by 2023, taking with it as many as 700 employees.
Jan. 12 — T-Mobile quietly prunes back sales jobs
On Jan. 12, Fierce Network reported on what appeared to be mass layoffs across T-Mobile’s sales roles.
In a post to the r/tmobile subreddit last December, one user claimed that the telco’s “sales teams are being significantly reduce nationwide,” with a particular focus on “account executives and sales managers.” Other Reddit users supported that claim in comments and other posts to the site.
When asked, T-Mobile told Fierce it was making “some changes,” but it declined to say how many employees had been terminated.
Jan. 5 — Telefónica pushes ahead with layoff plan
Spanish telco Telefónica has been planning sweeping layoffs from its Spain business since last year. Late last year, the company scaled back its scheme after a series of union negotiations.
It now looks like Telefónica will go ahead with as many as 5,000 layoffs by the end of the year, most of which will come from its Spain business. The company will reportedly offer compensation to affected employees to the tune of $3 billion (€2.5 billion).
This is a running story and will be updated periodically. Click here to explore last year’s layoff tracker.