What is the AI Layoff Tracker?

A free, continuously updated layoff tracker covering verified job cuts worldwide across all industries and causes. It flags which layoffs companies explicitly attribute to AI or automation. Every entry links to a primary source: a SEC 8-K filing, a US state WARN notice, or a named news outlet with the exact quote.

How many layoffs have there been in 2026 so far?

So far in 2026 the tracker holds 3,257 verified layoff events totaling 799,607 job cuts worldwide. Companies explicitly blamed AI for 109,490 of those cuts. Totals update daily as new filings and reports are verified.

Where does the layoff data come from?

Four kinds of sources. SEC 8-K filings, searched twice daily. Official WARN notices from 47 US states, imported daily with no AI processing. The European Restructuring Monitor, which is Eurofound's official per-company database of announced restructuring across the EU27, Norway and historically the UK (imported daily and credited to Eurofound; because these are announcement-stage figures, they feed the separately labeled "Announced" tier and never the verified totals). And worldwide press coverage in 65+ languages through the GDELT news index plus NewsAPI. The dataset spans 2015 to the present across 49 countries, 57,499 events in total.

What sources do you use?

Official government filings and legally required notices first: every SEC 8-K/6-K filing, official WARN mass-layoff notices from 47 US states (each a live link on our Data Sources page), and the EU's Eurofound restructuring monitor. Worldwide, we add named news coverage in 65+ languages from an editorially maintained trusted-outlet allowlist. Nothing is estimated — every number links back to one of these. The Data Sources page lists each one, with links to check the raw source yourself.

How is this different from other layoff trackers?

Announcement surveys count corporate intentions on the day of the announcement. This job layoff tracker counts what has a verifiable document or quoted primary source behind it, so it is a documented floor rather than an estimate. Announcement-stage cuts are also tracked, but in a separately labeled tier that is never mixed into the verified totals.

Can journalists and researchers use this data?

Yes, free with attribution to asktherecruiter.com (CC BY 4.0). Filtered or full CSV and JSON downloads are on the page, and a public REST API serves the same data. Corrected entries are publicly flagged, and every correction to published figures is disclosed in the on-page corrections log.

How often is the tracker updated?

Continuously. News and SEC filings are collected twice daily (morning and after US market close, ET); official WARN notices and Eurofound ERM records import daily; and the daily summary, stats, charts and table read live data on every page load. The Tracker Health page shows every collector's latest run in real time.

What is the difference between "verified" and "announced" job cuts?

Verified cuts have a filing or independently reported source behind them: a WARN notice, an SEC filing, or a named outlet's report of cuts taking place. Announced cuts are company plans reported at announcement stage, tracked in their own labeled tier and never mixed into the verified totals, because announced plans can shrink, stretch over years, or partially happen through attrition.

How do I report an error?

Use the contact page and corrections get priority. Every entry links to its primary source, so you can check any number against the underlying document.

AskTheRecruiter · press & media kit

Table of Contents

Press & Media Kit

Name: AI Layoff Tracker
Creator: AskTheRecruiter
License: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/

Everything a reporter needs to cite the AI Layoff Tracker: the boilerplate, live quotable figures, how the data is verified, brand assets, and a direct contact. Every number on this page is reproducible from our public API.

← Back to the tracker · Data sources · Contact us

Boilerplate

AskTheRecruiter is the open, evidence-based intelligence platform helping workers understand the changing job market and improve their chances of getting hired. Its AI Layoff Tracker is a continuously updated, source-linked database of verified job cuts worldwide, purpose-built to flag which layoffs companies themselves attribute to AI or automation — every figure clickable back to a primary document.

One-line version: “The AI Layoff Tracker by AskTheRecruiter.com — a source-linked database of layoffs worldwide, flagging the ones companies blame on AI.”

About the AI Layoff Tracker

The AI Layoff Tracker is a continuously updated database of verified job cuts worldwide, with a specific focus on flagging which layoffs companies attribute to AI or automation. Every entry links to a primary source: an SEC 8-K filing, a state WARN notice, or a named news report with a direct quote. Live editorial tracking began in January 2026; the database also carries historical records back to 2002 (Europe) and 2015 (US), built from official WARN filings, SEC disclosures and the EU’s restructuring monitor, so year-over-year comparisons are possible.

Why it’s worth citing

The angle	Why it’s a story
We break out the AI cuts	Most layoff trackers give you one lump-sum number and stop. We flag the cuts a company itself pinned on AI or automation, each with the employer’s own quote on file, so “AI-attributed” becomes a figure a reporter can source instead of guess at.
Every number is a receipt	Estimate-based trackers hand you a figure. We hand you the document behind it: an SEC filing, a WARN notice, or a named report. It’s a floor you can prove, not a projection.
We show where AI is cutting	A live world map, the teams hit hardest, and AI’s rising share month over month: the geographic and functional detail a press release can’t give a reporter.
Nothing is hidden	A public corrections log, open methodology, the full source list, and an API anyone can reproduce. When we catch an error, we publish it.

Press contact

For data requests, custom cuts of the dataset, corrections, or comment, use the contact page. Press and reporter requests get priority, and every correction to a published figure is logged publicly on the tracker.

Using our data

Free for editorial, research, and educational use under CC BY 4.0. Please attribute to asktherecruiter.com and link back where possible.

Suggested attribution: “According to the AI Layoff Tracker by AskTheRecruiter.com…”

Key stats by year

Live figures from the same database the tracker serves. “AI-attributed” uses our strict standard: the company named AI as a primary or contributing cause, with a supporting quote on file. A separate broader measure (looser AI-linked attributions) is available in the ai_broad_jobs API field.

Year	Verified layoffs	Job cuts recorded	AI-attributed (strict)
2026	2,803	759,024	108,090
2025	4,747	1,344,164	99,887
2024	4,266	1,104,964	79,164
2023	3,953	1,081,982	1,523
2022	1,796	330,094	0
2021	1,793	407,474	0
2020	13,397	2,654,541	50
2019	2,631	670,996	0
2018	2,217	581,877	500
2017	2,162	487,489	12,540
2016	2,480	731,475	0
2015	2,498	649,584	0

Coverage depth varies by year: 2015 to 2023 is primarily official US WARN filings; from 2024 on, worldwide news, SEC filings and European Restructuring Monitor coverage deepen. Methodology and per-country sources are documented on the tracker itself.

Editorial independence

The tracker is a data product of AskTheRecruiter.com. Its numbers are produced by fixed, published rules: counts come only from linked primary documents, AI labels require the employer’s own words, and no figure is adjusted for any commercial purpose. The full methodology, the per-country source list, the public corrections log and the collection code are open for inspection, and the dataset can be reproduced from the public API by anyone.

Access the full dataset

Filtered or full CSV and JSON exports are on the tracker page. The public REST API serves the same data live: GET /blog/wp-json/layoffs/v1/query and GET /blog/wp-json/layoffs/v1/aggregate. Company pages with stable, linkable URLs live under /company-layoffs/ (for example, a reporter can cite one company’s full source-linked history at a permanent address).

Brand assets

Ask The Recruiter

Primary green #4F7257
Accent #D4A574
Ink #16181D

The wordmark and “atr” mark above may be used to credit the tracker in coverage. For high-resolution PNG or SVG logo files or a specific lockup, ask through the contact page and we’ll send them the same day.