IBM layoffs: Tech giant to cut thousands of roles amid focus on software growth — Who will get affected?

IBM layoffs: Amid over one lakh job cuts in major tech companies across the world, International Business Machines Corp (IBM) is set to reduce thousands of roles to focus on software growth, reported Bloomberg News.

The job cuts will take place in this quarter as the company shifts focus to software and service.

“We routinely review our workforce through this lens and at times rebalance accordingly,” the report said, quoting a company spokesperson.

“In the fourth quarter we are executing an action that will impact a low single-digit percentage of our global workforce.”

Slowdown in growth

According to Reuters, IBM last month recorded a slowdown in growth in the key cloud software segment. Its shares, which have risen over 35% this year, were down close to 2% on Tuesday.

Who will get affected?

Some US workers may be affected by the job reductions, but employment in the country is anticipated to remain roughly the same year over year, the spokesperson said.

How many employees does IBM have?

The company employed about 270,000 workers as of the end of 2024.

Tech layoffs

In recent months, several tech companies, including Amazon, TCS and Microsoft among others have announced layoffs as the focus shifts to artificial intelligence.

According to Layoffs.fyi - a platform that tracks global tech industry layoffs - over 112,732 tech workers have been laid off across 218 tech companies in 2025 alone.

Watch: From Amazon To Meta, Over 150,000 Fired Ahead Of Christmas | What’s Driving These Mass Layoffs?

Amazon job cuts

Last week, Amazon announced that it will reduce its global corporate workforce by about 14,000 people, with more cuts expected next year.

The online retailer began laying off employees across multiple divisions as part of a plan.

Amazon will offer most affected workers 90 days to look for a new role internally and said its recruiting teams would prioritize those candidates, reported Reuters.

TCS layoffs

Tata Consultancy Services (TCS), India's largest IT services firm's total workforce count witnessed a 19,755 fall to 593,314 as of the second quarter of the financial year 2025-26.

Microsoft layoffs

Microsoft, the second most valuable publicly listed company after Nvidia globally, has so far laid off over 15,000 employees in 2025. However, CEO Satya Nadella recently said that the tech giant plans to expand its workforce, but the focus will now be on a more strategic and leveraged approach post-AI revolution.