The Coming Layoffs and the Revenge of the Measurers

Major tech companies are conducting massive layoffs in 2026, with over 100,000 jobs cut this year as AI investments surge to $725 billion, fundamentally reshaping the industry. The layoffs are predominantly targeting "measurers"—middle managers and support functions like finance and legal—while preserving product creators, marketers, and leadership, as AI reduces the human coordination overhead that previously justified large organizational structures. Founder-led companies are cutting most aggressively, recognizing that AI allows them to eliminate layers of middle management that existed primarily to manage other managers rather than create product value.