Tech Giants Burn Billions on Severance as Job Cuts Reshape the Industry
Tech giants are spending billions on severance and layoffs as they trim staff after the pandemic-era hiring spree. Amazon disclosed about $2.7 billion in estimated severance through 2025 (with $1.8B recorded in the prior quarter) as it continues large-scale job cuts; other Mag 7 members either did not disclose severance separately or lumped it with restructuring charges. Outside that group, Oracle and Intel each reported roughly $1.8 billion in severance costs, while Dell ($569M) and Cisco ($617M) posted sizable exit costs; AMD and Micron reported much smaller figures. Headcount declines were sharp (Intel ~25,000 in 2025; Oracle ~21,000; Dell ~36,000 over three years), signaling a shift toward cloud/AI investment and cost discipline over expansion. Amazon’s implied severance per laid-off employee was about $60,000.
