Digest archive · Daily edition
Aug 20, 2026
This page is the edition exactly as it was composed and sent. The figures were read once, for the window above, and they have not been updated since. Filings and notices keep arriving, so the live tracker will now show larger numbers for the same window, and a correction can lower one. Every link below names the date basis it was counted on. Links to other sites appear here as the outlet's address in plain text; the email carried them as links.
AI Layoff Tracker
2026 Week 34 · August 19-20 · verified job cuts · counted by the date the cuts take effect · provisional
In Week 34 of 2026, employers verified 1,788 US job cuts. Worldwide, verified job cuts totalled 1,788. No employer explicitly named AI as a reason.
United States verified job cuts | Worldwide verified job cuts |
Both figures are verified job cuts on August 19 and 20, 2026, counted where the jobs were and by the date the cuts take effect.
Filings and notices keep arriving, so this window is provisional: it usually rises, and a correction can lower it.
Every verified cut in this window carries a country, so the regions below sum to the worldwide figure.
AI-attributed cuts
0 today · 42,953 in 2026 so far
We reviewed 7 entries dated August 19-20, 2026, 1,788 verified job cuts between them. No employer explicitly named AI as a reason on any of them. Explicit attribution is rare and arrives in bursts: of the 32 complete weeks of 2026 measured to August 16, 16 recorded none. So far in 2026 employers have attributed 42,953 verified job cuts to AI, 8% of the year's total.
Why that matters: zero AI-attributed cuts does not mean AI played no role. It means no employer in these records explicitly cited AI as a reason. This tracker measures employer disclosure, not the effect of automation on employment.
Source quality
Where these came from, August 19-20, 2026, verified only: 1,788 from state WARN filings.
All 7 entries on August 19 and 20, 2026 are verified, across 4 companies. The window holds no announced estimates. Announced cuts are plans companies have stated that no filing or named report verifies yet.
Biggest cuts
August 19-20, 2026, verified only, ranked by job count.
| Meta (New York, United States, takes effect August 20, 2026) | 417 jobs |
| Meta (New York, United States, takes effect August 20, 2026) | 389 jobs |
| Meta (New York, United States, takes effect August 20, 2026) | 354 jobs |
| W South Beach & Residences (Florida, United States, takes effect August 19, 2026) | 337 jobs |
| Hard Rock Cafe Miami (Florida, United States, takes effect August 19, 2026) | 117 jobs |
Where the jobs were
August 19-20, 2026, verified job cuts, counted where the jobs were rather than where the employer is based: United States 1,788. Regions are our own grouping.
Which industries
August 19-20, 2026, verified job cuts, by the industry we classified the employer into: Technology 1,234 · Food & Hospitality 454 · Professional Services 100.
2026 YTD
525,083
verified job cuts
January 1 - August 20, 2026, worldwide, counted by the date the cuts take effect.
Of those, 42,953 were attributed to AI by the employer, January 1 - August 20, 2026, worldwide.
100,991 of the 525,083 verified job cuts sit on entries with no country recorded, January 1 - August 20, 2026.
Open the tracker for August 19-20, 2026
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About this snapshot
The database last changed August 20, 2026 at 09:32 UTC. This digest was composed August 20, 2026 at 10:20 UTC, and every figure in it is the snapshot taken then.
Cite this
AI Layoff Tracker, AskTheRecruiter.com. Figures for August 19-20, 2026, as of August 20, 2026 at 09:32 UTC, accessed August 20, 2026 at 10:20 UTC.
https://asktherecruiter.com/blog/ai-layoff-tracker/
All archived editions · Methodology · Submit a correction
Aug 20, 2026 layoff digest. AI Layoff Tracker, AskTheRecruiter.com. Accessed Sep 9, 2026. https://asktherecruiter.com/blog/ai-layoff-tracker/editions/daily/2026-08-20/ Licensed CC BY 4.0; every entry links to the filing, notice or report behind it.