The United Nations has issued a warning that millions of jobs might disappear this year and it has got a lot to do with the global economic slowdown sparked by U.S. President Donald Trump’s ongoing trade war.

According to a fresh report from the International Labour Organization (ILO), a UN agency that tracks global employment trends, only about 53 million new jobs are expected to be created worldwide in 2025. That’s 7 million fewer than previously forecast. The drop as the ILO points to is because of growing uncertainty in the global economy, mainly due to rising geopolitical tensions and trade disruptions.

The gloomy forecast is based on downgraded global growth estimates from the International Monetary Fund (IMF), which in April cut its 2025 GDP outlook to 2.8%, down from the earlier 3.2%. The IMF specifically blamed Trump’s escalating tariffs on major U.S. trading partners for shaking investor confidence and putting the brakes on economic activity.

And it gets worse: the ILO says around 84 million jobs in 71 countries are either directly or indirectly tied to American consumer demand, meaning they are highly exposed to any fallout from U.S. trade policy. Of those, nearly 56 million jobs are in the Asia-Pacific region, and over 13 million in Canada and Mexico.

“People whose jobs depend on what Americans buy or invest in are now facing much higher risks of losing their income, partly or completely, because of higher tariffs and unpredictable trade rules,” the ILO said.

Since returning to the White House in January, Trump has ramped up import duties on key goods like steel and cars and threatened more unless countries come to the negotiating table. He’s now eyeing July 9 as a deadline to slap heavy “reciprocal tariffs” on countries that don’t strike a deal with the U.S.

The unpredictable nature of these tariffs is spooking both businesses and consumers, leading to hiring slowdowns and economic jitters. “In this kind of environment, employers are just being more careful about hiring,” the ILO added.

Gilbert Houngbo, the ILO’s Director-General, summed it up bluntly: “We already know the global economy isn’t growing as fast as we thought. And if trade tensions keep rising, they’re going to send even more shockwaves through the job market around the world.”

The Domino Effect of Tech Layoffs, Why India’s Senior Tech Talent Is Spooked

Back in the day, earning ₹45 to ₹70 lakh a year in the tech industry meant one had made it. Today, however, not so much. If you ask any recruiter in India’s IT sector, they will tell you that 9 out of 10 senior tech professionals in that salary bracket are walking into interviews with one thing plastered all over their faces = fear of being laid off.

And it’s not just in India. When Microsoft announced its latest round of layoffs on May 13, workplace discussion platform Blind ran a simple survey with 3,543 professionals in the U.S., asking: “Do you think you’ll lose your job in the next year?” Almost half – 47% – said yes. That’s a whole lot of anxiety doing the rounds in corner offices.

Back home, it’s no different.

“The fear of getting laid off is the biggest elephant in the room for senior and super-senior tech folks in India right now,” said B.S. Murthy, CEO of Leadership Capital, a Bengaluru-based CXO hiring firm. “One big layoff announcement from a major tech player and boom — morale across the sector takes a nosedive.”

And there’s reason to worry. Global tech giants have already slashed over 1.05 lakh jobs worldwide this year. Of that, around 20% were in India. A chunk of these, nearly 45%, came from roles in HR, support functions, content, and coding, according to the Layoffs Landscape study by Tholons, a global tech and innovation firm.

If you’re counting, major players like Meta, Amazon, and a bunch of Indian startups have axed close to 28,000 roles in India since January 2025. Microsoft’s latest cut – another 6,000 jobs gone, many of which were right here in India.

The result is that the industry is in panic, and not just among freshers. Even the most seasoned tech leaders are now scanning LinkedIn and updating resumes, just in case.

In other words, this is not a bump in the road,  it is a whole new road and a lot of people are feeling lost without a map.

Why Is Tech Feeling the Heat? Follow the Money Trail

So, what’s behind this massive tech chill?

In one word: budgets.

Turns out, Fortune 1000 companies, the global giants that normally write fat cheques for IT services, have decided to put their wallets on lockdown. No extra spending this year. Zip. Nada.

“Big corporations aren’t adding a single rupee or dollar to their tech budgets this year. They want more done with fewer people and tighter budgets,” said the CTO of a prominent Indian tech firm who preferred to stay unnamed (can’t blame him).

The U.S. tech market, still the big kahuna when it comes to global tech demand, is not exactly brimming with optimism either. With a gloomy business outlook, boards are telling CIOs and CTOs to cut IT spending by 10–20%. And when America sneezes, the global IT world, especially Indian tech firms, catches a cold.

So now, vendors everywhere have been thrown a new challenge: deliver more value, but for less money. It’s forcing them to rethink everything, starting with automation and AI.

Enter generative AI.

With tools like ChatGPT and now DeepSeek stepping into the spotlight, the tech world is feeling the tremors. DeepSeek, in particular, has been making waves for its strong technical reasoning and cost-effectiveness. The result is even players like OpenAI are now glancing nervously over their shoulders. The pressure to evolve has never been higher.

Phil Fersht, CEO and Chief Analyst at London-based HFS Research, says there’s a clear shift happening. “More and more global IT buyers are looking at niche specialist firms for AI-led work instead of the big, traditional IT service companies,” he said.

The reason because, according to him, many of the top Indian firms still rely too much on low-cost delivery teams and don’t have enough muscle in specialist consulting, a gap that’s becoming painfully obvious in the AI era.

And then there’s the tariff chaos and economic uncertainty that just won’t go away. All of this is piling pressure on buyers, who are now picking partners with extreme caution.

To make things worse, Indian IT companies are now sitting on a pile of extra talent, especially in one bloated layer: managers and senior managers. This so-called “bulging middle”, those floating somewhere between upper leadership and ground-level coders, is looking increasingly redundant in a world that wants leaner, smarter teams.

Can India Withstand a Global Tech Meltdown?

Here is the reality – according to Nasscom, India’s tech industry pumped $283 billion into the economy in FY25. Of this, $225 billion came from exports alone. The target is $300 billion in FY26, and an ambitious $1 trillion contribution to GDP by 2030.

But that trajectory could take a hit if global tech keeps bleeding jobs. Layoffs don’t just impact office floors, they echo into real estate, auto, and lifestyle sectors.

“People won’t buy cars or homes if job security is gone,” said a senior banker. “Banks will get cautious about loans. High-end consumption will slow. Even foreign holidays and eating out might get dialed down.”

The Layoff Story So Far, Tech’s Tectonic Shift in 2025

IBM, a legacy behemoth in global technology, has reportedly shown the door to nearly 8,000 employees, with the brunt of the layoffs hitting the Human Resources division. 

Following IBM’s rollout of AI tools capable of handling many HR responsibilities, roughly 200 jobs were cut, signalling what might be the beginning of the end for traditional roles in people management.

In an interview, IBM CEO Arvind Krishna candidly stated that the company’s adoption of AI and automation is not just a trend but a deliberate pivot to increase operational efficiency. Interestingly, he added that IBM’s total workforce had still grown, as cost savings from AI-led automation were being ploughed into marketing, software engineering, and sales – essentially, roles that either need human creativity or drive revenue.

IBM is also pushing forward on the AI battlefield. At its recent Think conference, it launched a fresh suite of enterprise-grade AI tools designed to help companies build and manage their own AI-driven agents. These offerings integrate with the likes of OpenAI, Amazon, and Microsoft, clearly indicating that IBM isn’t just automating – it is arming others to do the same.

But IBM is far from alone in this transformation-triggered turmoil.

2025 Tech Layoffs Cross 61,000 and Counting
According to data from Layoffs.fyi, over 61,220 tech professionals have already been laid off this year, spanning 130+ companies.

Let us break down some of the biggest casualties:

Microsoft’s Mayday Moment
On May 13, Microsoft announced 6,000 job cuts, marking its biggest layoff wave since 2023. That’s nearly 3% of its global workforce of 228,000.

With about 2,000 positions axed in Washington state alone, the layoffs cut across multiple departments. Microsoft insists this is about “internal realignment” and staying nimble in a rapidly evolving tech landscape. But many insiders believe it’s more about cutting redundancy and making room for a future dominated by AI-led systems.

Google’s Layoff Echoes Get Louder
Google, too, is far from immune. In April, it laid off several hundred employees in its Platforms & Devices division this includes teams that handle Android, Pixel, and Chrome.

Earlier in February, the company saw exits in its Cloud division, while its January 2023 cut of 12,000 employees (6% of Alphabet’s global workforce) still looms large in industry memory. Google’s strategy? Trim fat in legacy divisions and double down on AI and cloud infrastructure.

Amazon Trims the Future
Amazon quietly let go of about 100 employees in its Devices and Services arm, which oversees Alexa, Echo, Kindle, and the ambitious but elusive Zoox self-driving car project.

According to Amazon, these layoffs were aimed at streamlining operations and supporting future product strategies more effectively. Translation: if it’s not evolving fast enough, it’s getting axed.

The Last Bit, Time For A Permanent Reset

As AI becomes smarter, cheaper, and more accessible, companies are no longer hesitating to replace humans with code, especially in departments like HR, support, content, and even parts of software development. What started as post-pandemic optimization has now morphed into a structural reset, driven by boardrooms chasing leaner margins and higher innovation quotas.

With layoffs concentrated not just in India but also globally, the question is no longer “if” your job is safe, but “how long” before it gets automated? As IBM, Microsoft, Google, and Amazon tighten the screws, the rest of the industry is left bracing for the next big wave.