The Ultimate Irony: Indeed Lays Off 1,300 Workers Amid AI Push (Here’s What Smart Job Seekers Can Learn From It)

There’s something deeply unsettling about watching the world’s largest job search platforms lay off their own employees. In July 2025, Indeed and Glassdoor announced they would cut approximately 1,300 workers as parent company Recruit Holdings accelerates its AI transformation.

“AI is changing the world, and we must adapt,” CEO Hisayuki “Deko” Idekoba wrote in the memo announcing the cuts. The irony is hard to miss. The platforms millions of people rely on to find work are telling their own workers they’re no longer needed.

But this isn’t just about one company making a strategic pivot. It’s a window into what’s happening across the entire tech industry. Over 180,000 tech workers have lost their jobs globally in 2025, with roughly 27% of those cuts directly attributed to AI and automation. Companies aren’t just tightening belts during a downturn. They’re fundamentally restructuring around technology that can do more work with fewer humans.

If you’re worried about your own job security, you’re not paranoid. You’re paying attention. By the end of this article, you’ll understand exactly what’s driving these layoffs, which roles are most at risk, and most importantly, what you can do to protect your career when even the job platforms themselves aren’t safe.

The Indeed and Glassdoor Cuts: A Case Study in AI Displacement

The layoffs at Indeed and Glassdoor follow a familiar pattern that’s playing out across the tech industry. Let’s break down what happened and why it matters.

What Got Cut

The 1,300 jobs eliminated represent about 6% of Recruit Holdings’ HR Technology segment. The cuts primarily targeted:

• Research and development teams: The engineers and product people who build the platforms
• People and sustainability departments: HR functions that could be automated
• Operations roles: Administrative positions being replaced by AI systems

The layoffs hit U.S. workers hardest, though positions were cut across multiple countries. As part of the restructuring, Glassdoor’s entire operation is being folded into Indeed, and Glassdoor CEO Christian Sutherland-Wong departed in October.

The AI Pivot Is Explicit

Unlike some companies that dress up layoffs in vague language about “efficiency,” Recruit Holdings was remarkably direct about why these cuts happened. The company stated it is focusing on “simplifying hiring by building a better job seeker and employer experience using AI.”

Indeed already claims that AI helps someone find a job every 2.2 seconds on their platform. The goal isn’t to eliminate AI. It’s to make human workers redundant in the process.

This Isn’t About Financial Trouble

Here’s what makes these layoffs different from traditional cost-cutting: both Indeed and Glassdoor are profitable. Recruit Holdings is posting strong earnings. The company isn’t eliminating jobs because it’s struggling. It’s eliminating jobs because it believes AI can do them better.

This is the new reality of tech employment. Profitability no longer protects you. Strategic value does.

Interview Guys Tip: When evaluating potential employers, look beyond financial health. Research their AI strategy and how they talk about automation. A profitable company that’s “investing heavily in AI” might be a bigger layoff risk than a leaner company with a people-first culture.

The reality is that most resume templates weren’t built with ATS systems or AI screening in mind, which means they might be getting filtered out before a human ever sees them. That’s why we created these free ATS and AI proof resume templates:

The 2025 Tech Layoff Landscape

The Indeed and Glassdoor cuts are just one data point in a much larger trend. Here’s what the numbers show about tech employment in 2025.

The Scale of the Crisis

Different trackers report slightly different numbers, but the overall picture is consistent:

• Over 180,000 tech workers have been laid off globally in 2025 (as of late October)
• 118,099+ workers at U.S.-based tech companies specifically (per Crunchbase)
• 237 companies have conducted layoffs (per Layoffs.fyi)
• Approximately 27% of these cuts are directly tied to AI and automation

For context, 2024 saw approximately 152,000 tech layoffs across 549 companies. 2023 was even worse, with over 264,000 cuts. The tech industry has now experienced three consecutive years of massive job losses.

The Biggest Cuts

The companies making the largest reductions in 2025 include:

• Intel: 33,900 layoffs as the chipmaker restructures after years of setbacks
• Microsoft: 19,215 cuts across multiple rounds, even as the company reports record revenue
• Amazon: 14,000+ corporate positions eliminated, with reports suggesting up to 30,000 total
• TCS (Tata Consultancy Services): 12,000 cuts, primarily mid-level and senior positions
• Verizon: 15,000 workers affected by new CEO’s cost reduction plan
• HP: 4,000-6,000 jobs planned by 2028

Smaller companies are cutting proportionally too. Meta trimmed 3,720 workers including 600 from its AI division. Salesforce cut 5,000. The list goes on.

Profitable Companies Are Leading the Cuts

The most troubling aspect of 2025’s layoffs is that they’re not driven by financial distress. Microsoft reported $70.1 billion in revenue for Q1 2025, a 13% increase year-over-year. Amazon’s earnings are strong. These companies have more money than ever.

They’re cutting jobs because AI has changed the math on what they need humans to do.

Why This Is Happening Now

Understanding the forces driving these layoffs can help you anticipate what’s coming and position yourself accordingly.

The AI Investment Pivot

Companies across the tech sector are redirecting human salary budgets toward AI systems. The logic is straightforward: if an AI tool can handle customer support tickets, product testing, or data analysis, why pay humans to do it?

The roles disappearing first follow a predictable pattern:

• Customer support: Chatbots resolve issues without human intervention
• Quality assurance: AI tools handle product testing
• Data analysis: Machine learning processes information faster than analysts
• Content moderation: Automated systems flag and remove content
• Basic coding tasks: AI assistants write routine code

The Over-Hiring Correction

Many tech companies doubled their headcount during the pandemic boom years of 2020-2021, fueled by low interest rates and surging demand for digital services. As growth normalized, they found themselves with more workers than they needed.

This correction was inevitable. What wasn’t inevitable was timing it to coincide with AI breakthroughs that made many positions permanently redundant rather than temporarily excess.

The “Lean and Efficient” Mandate

Tech CEOs are increasingly focused on removing organizational layers and reducing bureaucracy. Amazon CEO Andy Jassy talks about operating like “the world’s largest startup.” Microsoft’s Satya Nadella emphasizes speed and efficiency.

In practice, this means fewer managers, flatter hierarchies, and a preference for smaller teams that can move quickly. Mid-level positions are particularly vulnerable in this restructuring.

Interview Guys Tip: If you’re in middle management, start developing either deep technical skills or executive-level strategic capabilities. The squeeze is happening from both ends, and generalist managers are the most vulnerable.

What This Means for Job Seekers

If you’re looking for work in tech or worried about your current position, the layoff landscape has real implications for your strategy.

The Competition Is Fierce

Every major layoff floods the job market with experienced candidates. When Amazon cuts 14,000 people or Microsoft lets go of 19,000, those workers don’t disappear. They become your competition.

Many of these displaced workers have impressive resumes, relevant experience, and networks built over years at prestigious companies. Breaking through that competition requires more than just submitting applications.

The Irony of AI-Powered Job Search

Here’s the uncomfortable truth: the same AI systems that are eliminating jobs are now gatekeeping the hiring process. Indeed’s AI helps someone find a job every 2.2 seconds, but it’s also filtering out countless candidates before human eyes ever see their applications.

We’ve written extensively about how AI is reshaping the hiring process and how job seekers are fighting back against algorithmic screening. The system is broken, and the companies breaking it are often the same ones cutting their workforce.

Some Sectors Are Safer Than Others

Not all tech jobs face equal risk. Positions that require human judgment, creativity, relationship-building, and physical presence are more protected:

• AI and machine learning engineers: The people building the systems are in demand
• Cybersecurity specialists: Threats require human intelligence to counter
• Sales roles requiring relationships: Enterprise sales depends on trust
• Hardware engineers: Physical products still need human design
• Leadership positions with strategic responsibility: Decisions require judgment

Meanwhile, roles that involve routine processing, pattern-matching, or information synthesis face the highest risk of automation.

How to Protect Your Career

The layoff wave isn’t going to stop. If anything, AI capabilities will accelerate job displacement over the coming years. Here’s how to position yourself for survival.

Develop Skills AI Can’t Replicate

The skills that will matter most going forward are the ones that machines struggle with:

• Strategic thinking: Understanding business context and making judgment calls
• Interpersonal communication: Building relationships and navigating complex human dynamics
• Creative problem-solving: Finding novel solutions to unprecedented challenges
• Leadership: Motivating and coordinating teams through uncertainty
• Ethical reasoning: Making decisions that require weighing competing values

These aren’t just nice-to-haves anymore. They’re survival skills.

Build Your Network Before You Need It

When layoffs hit, the candidates who land fastest are the ones with strong professional networks. Don’t wait until you’re job hunting to build relationships on LinkedIn or reconnect with former colleagues.

The hidden job market becomes even more important when the visible market is flooded with competition. Referrals bypass AI screening entirely.

Diversify Your Income Streams

The traditional model of full employment at a single company is becoming riskier. Consider building side income that could sustain you through a job transition or eventually replace traditional employment altogether.

Freelancing, consulting, content creation, or building a small business gives you options when corporate employment becomes unstable.

Stay Visible and Valuable

In an environment where companies are looking for reasons to cut headcount, visibility matters. Make sure your contributions are documented, your impact is measurable, and your leadership knows what you bring to the table.

This isn’t about self-promotion for its own sake. It’s about making sure that when decisions are made about who stays and who goes, the people making those decisions understand your value.

Interview Guys Tip: Start an “impact journal” where you document your accomplishments, successful projects, and value-adds weekly. When performance reviews or layoff discussions happen, you’ll have concrete evidence of your contributions rather than vague impressions.

The Bigger Picture

The Indeed and Glassdoor layoffs are a symbol of something larger: the fundamental restructuring of work around artificial intelligence. Companies that once employed thousands to do jobs that AI can now handle are choosing the machines.

This doesn’t mean all jobs are disappearing. New roles are being created in AI development, implementation, and oversight. The economy will adapt. But the transition period is brutal for workers caught in the middle.

The question isn’t whether AI will transform your industry. The question is whether you’ll be ready when it does.

Putting It All Together

When the platforms designed to help you find work are laying off their own employees, it sends a clear message: no one is safe in the traditional sense. The companies posting record profits are cutting staff. The AI tools meant to help job seekers are filtering them out. The system that promised stability is revealing itself to be anything but stable.

But that doesn’t mean you’re powerless. The workers who thrive in this environment will be the ones who develop irreplaceable skills, build strong human networks, and remain adaptable as the ground shifts beneath them.

The tech layoff crisis of 2025 isn’t the end of work. It’s the end of work as we knew it. The sooner you accept that reality and adjust your strategy accordingly, the better positioned you’ll be for whatever comes next.

Your career security no longer comes from your employer. It comes from you.

Good luck!

The reality is that most resume templates weren’t built with ATS systems or AI screening in mind, which means they might be getting filtered out before a human ever sees them. That’s why we created these free ATS and AI proof resume templates:

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