A 51% Surge in Tech Job Cuts. But Not Every Leader Read From the Same Script. In the first quarter of 2026, tech sector job cuts surged 51% compared to the same period last year, according to Challenger, Gray & Christmas — one of the most authoritative trackers of US workforce reductions. AI was cited as a factor in roughly one in eight of those cuts, a proportion growing month by month. Two of those moves happened weeks apart, both in the name of AI. But look closely, and yo