Worker Rights

In July 2026, Salesforce laid off roughly 1,000 employees across marketing, product management, data analytics, and the Agentforce AI unit, and confirmed it is sunsetting the Heroku platform team. The cuts coincided with the departure of several senior leaders tied to Salesforce's AI strategy: Adam Evans, EVP & GM of Agentforce, left to build startups (succeeded by Madhav Thattai); Ryan Aytay, President & CEO of Tableau after 19 years at the company, departed with no successor named; and CMO Ariel Kelman left to become President and CMO of AMD. The churn followed a KeyBanc analyst note (based on extensive partner/customer contact) stating 'Agentforce, as a product, just isn't there,' that customer data readiness for AI work was inadequate, and that more surveyed CIOs planned to deprioritize Salesforce spending than increase it over the following year. The layoffs and departures came less than a year after Salesforce cut ~4,000 customer-support roles (Sept 2025) citing AI agents handling half of customer interactions, a claim now in tension with reports that Salesforce itself scaled back reliance on large language models for critical functions after executives acknowledged declining confidence in the technology.

In July 2026, Samsung's Device Experience division informed employees it would use a 'full-time equivalent' (FTE) metric to quantify how many 40-hour-per-week jobs could be performed by generative AI tools, described internally as a way to 'standardize quantitative management of AI transformation performance.' Samsung is the first of Korea's four major conglomerates to adopt external generative AI services group-wide, and employees said the framing suggested the exercise was aimed at determining headcount reductions rather than efficiency gains. The measure followed other 2026 cost-cutting steps, including a 30% DX division cost-reduction target and economy-class travel requirements for executives on flights under 10 hours.

Apple closed its Towson Town Center store - the first unionized Apple Store in the United States - on June 20, 2026, after announcing the shutdown earlier in the year. The International Association of Machinists (IAM), which represents the Towson workers, filed an Unfair Labor Practice charge alleging the closure violates federal labor law and the collective bargaining agreement. Maryland's congressional delegation pressed Apple in a May 4, 2026 letter that went unanswered. The IAM argued Apple is signaling to other stores considering unionization that organizing will be met with retaliation. The Towson store was the only Apple location in the Baltimore County metro area accessible by public transit.

Kakao's labor talks with its union resumed in June 2026 but were clouded by a persistent leadership vacuum at the South Korean tech conglomerate, with workers at multiple Kakao subsidiaries (including Kakao Pay and Kakao Mobility) raising strike threats over stagnant wages, opaque restructuring, and management's failure to commit to negotiated terms. The dispute extended a multi-year pattern of governance turmoil at Kakao following the criminal probe into founder Brian Kim and continued operational instability across the group.

Sea Limited's Shopee unit cut hundreds of developer roles in Singapore in May-June 2026 as parent Sea accelerated an AI-led restructuring of its engineering org, including its TensorFlow and recommendation infrastructure teams. Local press coverage characterised the cuts as a sharp shift away from hiring after years of expansion and raised concerns about Singapore's broader tech labor market and Sea's responsibility for displaced engineers.

On June 3, 2026, Uber slashed its HR/People division by nearly a quarter (~340 people). The cuts came weeks after Chief People Officer Nikki Krishnamurthy stepped down on May 11. Uber stated the cuts were 'unrelated to AI,' though they followed a broader industry pattern of AI-driven restructuring across tech companies.

Tata Consultancy Services confirmed plans to cut approximately 12,200 jobs (~2% of its global workforce) during 2026, with managers instructed to identify the bottom 5% of staff as 'Band-D' underperformers - a process Indian IT-services labor advocates describe as a 'PIP-as-layoff playbook' designed to engineer voluntary exits at scale. The cuts disproportionately affect mid-career engineers in India and have triggered organizing among Indian IT services workers about their rights, MSA contracts, and background verification practices.

Indian worker federations reported a warehouse strike at Flipkart logistics facilities in June 2026 over wage cuts and what workers described as unsafe heatwave conditions in fulfilment centers. Strike organizers said Flipkart had cut piece-rate pay even as North India endured record heat exposures that prompted safety advisories. The company did not publicly respond at the time of reporting.

Amazon Employees for Climate Justice (AECJ) members reported in June 2026 that Amazon began disciplinary actions, including termination notices, against employees who publicly supported a Seattle proposal to pause new data center construction over climate, energy, and community-impact concerns. Workers characterized the actions as retaliation for protected political and environmental speech, escalating Amazon's long-running pattern of disciplinary measures against employees who organize on climate and workforce issues.

On May 28, 2026, Wix CEO Avishai Abrahami announced a 20% workforce reduction affecting approximately 1,000 employees, citing AI evolution and exchange rate challenges. An MIT professor was quoted saying tech companies are using AI as cover for layoffs in a pattern spanning 20 years. The cuts were part of a broader industry trend that saw 38,242 US tech job cuts in May 2026 alone.

On May 20, 2026, Intuit announced layoffs of approximately 3,000 employees, representing 17% of its staff. CEO Sasan Goodarzi cited the need to redirect resources toward AI integration across TurboTax, QuickBooks, and Credit Karma. Impacted workers were given until July 31 as their last day. The company has partnerships with both Anthropic and OpenAI to embed AI into its products.

In May 2026, over 47,000 Samsung Electronics workers (roughly 40% of the South Korean workforce) voted to strike after wage negotiations collapsed. The union demanded bonuses equivalent to 15% of operating profit and removal of a 50% salary cap on bonuses. The union estimated an 18-day strike would cost Samsung approximately $20 billion. A tentative agreement was reached on May 22, averting the full strike. This was one of the largest labor actions in semiconductor industry history.

A California court ruled in May 2026 against Tesla's motion to throw out a racial discrimination lawsuit brought by Black factory workers at its Fremont plant, allowing the case to advance toward a July 2026 trial. The lawsuit alleges pervasive racial slurs, racist graffiti, and segregated work assignments at Tesla's facilities, with the company accused of failing to remedy a hostile work environment despite documented complaints. Tesla has faced multiple similar suits and prior verdicts on these allegations.

A securities class action against Globant alleged the company failed to disclose wage freezes imposed on engineering staff in Argentina and Mexico in late 2023, resulting in widespread employee dissatisfaction, service-quality decline, and client losses that were not communicated to investors. The complaint claims investors suffered damages when the underlying Latin American workforce conditions became public.

In May 2026, LinkedIn laid off approximately 875 employees, representing 5% of its workforce. The Microsoft-owned professional networking platform stated the cuts were about focusing on growth areas and team reorganization, and were not AI-related. The layoffs were part of a broader wave of tech industry cuts in May 2026.

In May 2026, Cisco cut around 4,000 jobs as part of a restructuring to redirect resources toward AI. The company's stock surged 15% on the news. This followed previous rounds of layoffs in 2024 under CEO Chuck Robbins. The cuts were part of a broader industry trend: US tech companies announced 38,242 job cuts in May 2026 alone, the biggest month in nearly two years.

On April 21, 2026, Rideshare Drivers United (~20,000 members) filed lawsuit in San Francisco Superior Court alleging Uber violated California's Proposition 22 by failing to provide adequate appeals for driver deactivations. Named drivers include Devins Baker (8-year driver, deactivated for hard braking to avoid a pedestrian, received only 'copy and paste responses') and Mirwais Noory (father of four, forced to relocate family after deactivation). Documented problems include bot-based initial contact, offshore call centers working from scripts, no transparency about which passenger complained, and decisions appearing predetermined.

On April 16, 2026, Samsung asked a South Korean court to block labor unions from holding an 18-day strike planned for May 21 - June 7. The dispute centered on bonus demands (15% of projected semiconductor operating profit, totaling 40.5 trillion won) vs Samsung's offer of restricted stock with bonus caps. Approximately 40,000 union members participated in an April 23 rally in Pyeongtaek. The union claimed a strike would cost Samsung >1 trillion won ($676 million) per day.

On April 16, 2026, Samsung asked a South Korean court to block labor unions from holding an 18-day strike planned for May 21-June 7, 2026. The strike would reportedly cost Samsung over 1 trillion won ($676 million) per day. Approximately 40,000 union members participated in an April 23 rally in Pyeongtaek. The dispute centers on union demands for bonuses totaling 15% of projected annual semiconductor operating profit (40.5 trillion won) vs Samsung's offer of restricted stock with bonus caps.

In April 2026, Microsoft launched its first-ever buyout program in 51 years, targeting up to 7% of US workforce (approximately 8,750 employees). Eligibility required senior director level and below with combined age plus years of service >= 70. The program was framed as cost reduction to fund AI infrastructure. Offers expected early May with program running through end of June 2026.