Defined.ai cuts 30% of staff as tech sector layoffs surge

Defined.ai announced a global restructuring that reduces its workforce by roughly 30%. The company, which employed about 120 people in January across the United States, Spain and Portugal, said the cuts hit European operations hardest, especially its research‑and‑development centre in Portugal.

The downsizing reflects a wider trend in the technology industry. In the first half of 2024, tech firms eliminated more than 156,000 jobs, with the United States accounting for 128,170 of those. Oracle led the layoffs with over 25,000 positions, followed by Amazon with about 16,600, Cognizant, Meta and others. Outside the U.S., Australia, the Netherlands, Sweden, Austria, the United Kingdom and Germany also reported notable cuts. Analysts project that total tech job losses could exceed 290,000 by year‑end.

Companies attribute the reductions to the rapid adoption of artificial‑intelligence tools and a push for greater operational efficiency, reshaping staffing levels across the sector.