The technology industry is experiencing one of the biggest workforce changes in recent history as companies adopt agentic AI – a new technology that can work independently and make decisions without human help. This weekly update reveals how these changes are affecting workers around the world, from job cuts to increased work pressure.

Major Job Losses Announced This Month

The numbers are striking. In just March 2026, technology companies announced 45,000 total job cuts, with approximately 9,238 of those directly caused by AI and automation. This represents a major shift in how companies operate. The largest single company making cuts is Block, a financial services company founded by Jack Dorsey, which announced it is cutting from 10,000 employees down to 6,000 employees – a 40% reduction. Other major companies cutting jobs include Australian logistics company WiseTech Global with 2,000 cuts, home design platform Livspace with 1,000 cuts, and e-commerce platform eBay with 800 cuts.

CEOs at major technology conferences have admitted they are cutting workers specifically because AI can now do work that used to require humans. According to a survey by investment bank Morgan Stanley, companies have reduced their workforce by an average of 4% over the past year specifically because of AI adoption. This represents a major change from previous years when companies were hesitant to talk about AI causing job losses.

Different Results in Different Parts of the World

The cities most affected by these layoffs are technology hubs. Seattle, home to Amazon and Microsoft, has seen 16,590 jobs affected, followed by San Francisco with 9,395 layoffs and Menlo Park (where Meta is located) with 1,500 reductions. Outside the United States, Sydney, Australia has been heavily impacted due to tech company WiseTech Global's restructuring. This shows that AI's impact on jobs is not limited to just the United States – it is a global phenomenon.

The Positive Side: New Jobs Being Created

But the story is not all negative. Research from cloud computing company Snowflake shows that 77% of organizations report creating new jobs because of AI, compared to only 46% reporting job losses. This means more companies are hiring than firing. The jobs being created are mostly in technical areas: IT operations (56% report gains), cybersecurity (46% report gains), and software development (38% report gains). This suggests that while some jobs are disappearing, new jobs in technology are being created to support and manage AI systems.

Interestingly, when companies experience both job creation and job cuts, 69% say the overall effect is positive. This means that even when layoffs happen, the companies creating new jobs have more workers overall than before. Additionally, companies that have been using AI for a longer time are more likely to see job growth than companies just starting with AI.

The Burden on Remaining Workers

However, workers still have serious concerns. The research shows that while AI makes individual workers much more productive, companies are not letting workers go home early. Instead, companies are asking workers to do even more work. This has created a new problem called 'AI brain fry' – when workers constantly supervise multiple AI tools and experience mental fatigue, information overload, and decision fatigue. One study in the Harvard Business Review found that early adopters of AI described their work as more intense and difficult.

A consulting firm called McKinsey found that companies are moving AI from small test projects to full company-wide systems where AI agents can automate large portions of work. This is happening especially in customer service departments, where new AI voice agents that sound natural and friendly are replacing human customer service representatives. These AI agents can now handle conversations so well that customers sometimes prefer talking to the AI rather than a human.

Problems with AI Agents That Companies Are Facing

Despite the rapid adoption, agentic AI is facing challenges. An academic study from Carnegie Mellon and Duke University found that AI agents can only successfully and independently complete about 30% of assigned tasks. More complex tasks and tasks that take many steps are still beyond what current AI systems can do. Because of these failures, research firm Gartner predicts that more than 40% of agentic AI projects will be cancelled by the end of 2027 because companies won't achieve the results they wanted.

Additionally, many companies are not properly managing the risks of AI agents. Only 14.4% of companies get proper security approval before putting AI agents to work. Even more concerning, 57% of workers are secretly using personal AI accounts at work, creating security risks that companies cannot even track.

What Companies Need to Do Better

Experts say the biggest problem is that companies are moving too fast with technology but moving too slowly with preparing workers. CEOs expect AI to reduce middle manager jobs and make remaining managers supervise nearly 20% more workers, but companies are not training managers for this new responsibility. Workers are told they can retrain for new jobs, but companies are not investing enough in this training. The speed of technological change is faster than the speed of worker preparation.

Overall, the picture for workers in 2026 is one of rapid change and uncertainty. While new jobs are being created in technology fields, many traditional jobs are disappearing. The workers who remain in their jobs are being asked to do more work with new AI tools, causing stress and exhaustion. For workers to succeed in this new world, companies and workers will both need to make big changes – companies need to invest in training and support, and workers need to be willing to learn new skills.