Career & Job Market — 2026-07-25

Today's Hiring & Layoff Headlines

Amazon — Selective Layoff (AGI Unit)

• What happened: Amazon has laid off some employees within its Artificial General Intelligence (AGI) unit, which houses teams working on silicon and quantum computing alongside newly released AI models called Nova.
• Why: Cost optimization and team restructuring, though Amazon did not disclose specific headcount figures. The layoffs follow broader tech industry AI-focused restructuring.
• Impact: AGI unit staff reductions; affected roles not specified. Timing and severance details not disclosed.

Uber — AI-Related Layoffs

• What happened: Uber has announced AI-related layoffs in July 2026, joining 16 other companies that have explicitly attributed recent staff cuts to AI automation.
• Why: Automation of customer service, operations, and HR functions as part of broader AI workforce replacement strategy.
• Impact: Customer service and operations roles most affected; specific headcount and affected geographies not disclosed in recent reports.

1 sources

thehrdigest.com

thehrdigest.com

Biotech & Pharma Sector — Ongoing Reductions

• What happened: Clinuvel has cut one-fifth of its workforce; Novartis reduced headcount by 322 employees. Biotech layoffs tracked continuously by Fierce Biotech as of July 2026.
• Why: Cost restructuring and pipeline optimization common across pharma; AI-driven drug discovery also cited by some firms.
• Impact: Research, development, and commercial roles affected; severance packages vary by company.

Media & Journalism — Multi-Sector Cuts

• What happened: National Geographic, ESPN, and Sherwood News have announced redundancies in July 2026 as part of ongoing media industry consolidation.
• Why: Streaming economics, AI-driven content curation, and advertiser pullback pressure traditional media.
• Impact: Editorial, production, and support roles; geographies include UK and US.

1 sources

pressgazette.co.uk

pressgazette.co.uk

Labor Market Pulse

• 2026 YTD Tech Layoffs: 170,543 employees across 480 companies (832 workers per day through mid-July) — dramatically elevated from 2025's 245,953 total across 783 events, showing acceleration in layoff frequency.

• Job Openings (April 2026 revised): 7.6 million openings (revised down 33,000), with 5.2 million hires (up 99,000) — tighter job-opening-to-unemployment ratio signals employers slowing new position creation despite hiring activity.

• Health Care Hiring (June 2026): +22,000 jobs added in healthcare, but at a slower pace than the 12-month average of +38,000 — signaling deceleration even in traditionally stable sectors.

Sectors in Focus

Hot Sectors (hiring up)

Construction & Infrastructure: Renewable energy expansion, AI data center buildouts, and EV infrastructure are driving sustained hiring in construction trades, electricians, and skilled labor roles, per BLS employment projections through 2034.

Healthcare Services: Despite slowdown, healthcare continues net job growth (+22,000 in June), particularly hospitals (+9,000), driven by aging population demographics and rising demand for home health aides and nurses.

Cooling Sectors (hiring down)

Leisure & Hospitality: Employment declined 61,000 in June 2026, reflecting weaker-than-usual seasonal hiring and consumer spending pressure.

Tech & Software: 480 layoffs in first 7 months of 2026 (170,543 workers) vs. 783 total in all of 2025 — concentration in AI-adjacent roles (customer success, ops, junior engineering).

Compensation & Role Trends

AI Skills Command Premium: Companies are cutting junior and mid-level roles while seeking AI/ML specialists, prompt engineers, and data annotation leads—creating wage bifurcation. LinkedIn Economic Graph reports companies adapting hiring strategies to prioritize AI expertise, signaling willingness to pay above-market rates for scarce talent.

Remote Work Stalling: Hybrid return mandates from Meta, Amazon, and Microsoft have reduced remote-friendly role inventory, particularly in support functions (HR, finance, customer service). On-site penalties for junior roles widening.

Salary Discussions Subdued: Reddit r/cscareerquestions and r/recruitinghell report widespread salary compression for entry-level and mid-market tech roles; referral-based hiring now dominates, with cold applications facing 98%+ rejection rates due to volume.

Worker Voice

"Blindly applying on Indeed is a dead strategy." One user on r/recruitinghell noted landing a tech role after 11 months of post-graduation applications, emphasizing luck over strategy and highlighting rejection fatigue.

"The job market numbers are being massaged." A recurring theme on r/recruitinghell (Feb 2026): workers cite revised BLS job growth figures (adjusted down to 15k/month for 2025) and media underreporting of recession risks, fueling distrust of official labor statistics.

"Jobs won't return until end of 2026, at earliest H1 2027." Consensus on r/jobs (May 2026) reflects expectation of sustained cooling, with users advising defensive strategies like upskilling in AI/cloud and aggressive referral-network building.

What to Watch Next

• BLS Employment Report (August 2026): Weekly jobless claims and June nonfarm payrolls release will signal whether layoff pace accelerates or stabilizes post-summer. Expected mid-August.
• Earnings Call Guidance (Late July–August): Microsoft, Google, Meta, and Amazon earnings calls will clarify whether AI capex investments translate to hiring freezes or retraining initiatives.
• Layoffs.fyi & TrueUp Weekly Updates: Watch for AI-attributed layoffs to break 20% of total tech reductions—a threshold that typically triggers recruiter hiring binges in adjacent sectors (security, DevOps).

Reader Action Items

1. Update LinkedIn with AI/cloud certifications now: If you're in a cooling sector (leisure, junior tech), acquire Azure, GCP, or Prompt Engineer credentials and surface them in headline/skills—companies paying 15–25% premium for AI-fluent candidates. Referral-first strategy trumps cold apply.

2. Target referral-dense companies and avoid hiring freezes: Scan Layoffs.fyi for companies not on the tracker—healthcare, construction, infrastructure are net-hiring. Reach out to alumni/peers at those firms before cold-applying to frozen tech companies.

3. Negotiate aggressively on hybrid/flexibility if remote role offer comes: On-site roles saturating due to return mandates; if you land a remote offer, lock in flexibility terms in writing before signing—companies will tighten remote policies through Q4 2026.