"Recently news outlets reported that layoff announcements have reached pandemic levels, which is highly concerning, but certainly not unforeseen. At the beginning of 2025, the World Economic Forum reported that 41% of organizations were planning to trim their workforces in the face of rapidly advancing AI. In the second half of the year, six in 10 business leaders were planning headcount reductions."
"The Upwork Research Institute has identified a segment of companies that is maneuvering differently, poised to overtake enterprise organizations in innovation and resilience in 2026. Our research found that small- to medium-sized businesses, or SMBs, employing between 10 and 499 people, largely avoided the large-scale layoffs that dominated headlines. Instead, they used AI to change the scale equation, applied experimentation, and invested in flexible talent to address the disruption surrounding them. And they've come out as stronger powerhouses of innovation as a result."
Layoff announcements reached pandemic levels in 2025 as many organizations planned workforce cuts in response to rapidly advancing AI; early-year projections showed 41% planning trims and later surveys found six in 10 leaders considering reductions. A subset of small- to medium-sized businesses (10–499 employees) largely avoided mass layoffs by using AI to change the scale equation, running experiments, and investing in flexible talent. Nearly half of SMB leaders maintained high confidence through 2025 economic shocks. Shifting to smaller, flexible talent models and enabling human-plus-AI workflows creates a playbook for durable growth in 2026.
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