Several major tech companies—including Google, Microsoft, Oracle, and Meta—are cutting their workforces through voluntary buyouts or outright layoffs, with the total number of related job cuts this year now exceeding 100,000. The layoffs stem from both efficiency gains driven by AI and cash-flow pressures brought on by massive spending on AI data center construction. The pace of layoffs shows no sign of slowing and may even accelerate. As an early warning signal for the economy, if the tech industry's layoff wave spreads to retail and finance, the number of unemployed people across the United States could reach 1.6 million, pushing the unemployment rate up to near recession levels.