The year 2026 began with the highest layoffs in January since 2009 amid a rise in the usage of artificial intelligence (AI) and warnings from industry leaders and experts about threats to employees.

Oracle Announces Layoffs

Oracle Corp. (NYSE:ORCL) has become the latest to announce layoffs, slashing around 18% of the company's global workforce with a 6 a.m. termination email on Tuesday. As per TD Cowen, the cuts could reach 20,000 to 30,000 workers, making it the single largest tech layoff of 2026.

Layoffs At Meta

It's not just Oracle; Mark Zuckerberg-led Meta Platforms Inc. (NASDAQ:META) is also planning layoffs. The company has asked some employees to work remotely ahead of potential layoffs. The news comes amid reports that a fifth or more of Meta's nearly 79,000 employees could be let go.

Here's What Prediction Market Is Saying

Amid the layoffs in the tech industry, the prediction market is betting on whether the year 2026 will see more layoffs than 2025.

Data from Kalshi, a federally authorized betting platform, shows that over $14.6 million has been bet on the contract "More tech layoffs in 20​26 than in 2025?"

As per the contract, there were 447,000 layoffs in 2025.

The prediction market is confident that there will be more layoffs than this in 2026, with bettors placing an 87% probability on this. Bettors have placed only 13% probability on layoffs in 2026 being lower than in 2025.

AI Isn't Very ‘Popular'

OpenAI CEO Sam Altman recently said AI is facing growing public skepticism in the U.S., as Americans increasingly blame it for layoffs and rising energy costs.

But economist Justin Wolfers says that AI is serving as a shield for standard management decisions. "So the layoffs right now, very few of them probably are coming from AI.

Disclaimer: This content was partially produced with the help of AI tools and was reviewed and published by Benzinga editors.

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