Big tech layoffs shake China amid rising youth unemployment

China in 2026 is facing a storm that no official slogan can disguise. The wave of unemployment and layoffs has torn through every layer of society, from factory floors to the gleaming towers of internet giants. What began as scattered cuts in blue‑collar sectors has now engulfed white‑collar professionals, particularly in the tech industry.

Alibaba, Tencent, ByteDance, Meituan and Baidu have all slashed tens of thousands of jobs, with reductions in some divisions- travel, content, and e‑commerce support- reaching 30% to 50%. Behind these numbers lie shattered lives, broken families, and a generation of young workers who see no future.  

The tragedy is not abstract. It is lived daily by those who once believed in the promise of China’s economic miracle. A worker describes putting on his best clothes simply to search for food and shelter, while another admits to considering begging rather than working. The despair is raw: “No hope for life anymore. So what are your plans for the future? No plans.” These voices echo across social media platforms, painting a picture of a society where confidence has collapsed and survival has become the only goal.  

The so‑called “35‑year ceiling” has become a cruel reality. Workers in their mid‑30s, often married with mortgages and children, are being discarded en masse. One ByteDance employee recounted being dismissed at 35, stripped of responsibilities, and reduced to a subsistence salary. Another, a senior engineer with a prestigious 985 university background, was forced to hand over projects to a younger apprentice before being laid off. For them, the layoff is not just a professional setback but a devastating blow to identity, family security, and dignity.  

Younger workers are no safer. A 26‑year‑old ByteDance employee, laid off after six years in content operations, admitted that while the company’s name once carried prestige, the reality was relentless overtime and crushing competition. Now, even the resume boost of a big‑tech brand offers little protection. Many report that after leaving, they cannot even secure interviews; their resumes are ignored entirely. For them, the layoff is not temporary; it is a potential permanent exit from the IT industry.  

Artificial intelligence has accelerated this upheaval. Departments once built around consulting, coding, or data analysis are being dissolved as AI tools automate repetitive tasks. Workers describe the chilling moment when companies announced “all in AI,” realizing their own roles could be replaced wholesale. Why would users pay for human expertise when AI can provide answers instantly and for free? As predicted, departments collapsed, leaving employees waiting for the inevitable. Programmers, outsourced staff, and business intelligence analysts are among the first groups to be cut, as AI systems now generate reports, pull data, and even write code.  

The scale of the cuts is staggering. Over the past 18 months, China’s five major internet companies collectively laid off more than 130,000 employees. Alibaba alone shrank from 194,000 to 128,000 workers, a reduction of 34%. Baidu dropped nearly 10,000 employees, while JD.com is planning to cut 12,000 positions. What makes this round of layoffs particularly unsettling is that it is happening even as profits grow. In the past, companies cut staff to survive; now they cut staff to optimise.  

This transformation is not accidental; it is policy‑driven. Beijing’s “AI Plus Action Plan” aims for 70% AI penetration in key industries by 2027 and 90% by 2030. Tools like Alibaba’s Wukong platform promise to automate entire departments, offering “one‑person company” capabilities for e‑commerce, live streaming, and software development. Analysts estimate that 9.6% of jobs in China, roughly 70 million positions, are at high risk of being replaced by AI, with younger workers facing even higher exposure.  

Yet amid this upheaval, the Chinese Communist Party (CPC) and government remain conspicuously silent. Instead of addressing the crisis, official data obscures real unemployment, painting an overly optimistic picture. The social security system remains incomplete, leaving flexible workers without protections such as insurance or housing funds. Many young people are forced into the gig economy- ride-hailing, food delivery, courier services- but these jobs are dead ends, offering no upward mobility. “Flexible employment” is, in reality, disguised unemployment.  

The broader economic context intensifies the crisis. China’s economy continues to slow; supply chains are moving offshore, and real estate and manufacturing are in decline. Tens of millions of university graduates are entering the labour market, creating fierce competition for shrinking opportunities. The internet industry, once a reservoir for highly educated youth, is now the epicentre of layoffs. Instead of providing security, AI expansion erodes employment space, pushing anxiety to new levels. Social confidence is collapsing, as blocked mobility and worsening class rigidity transform the demographic dividend into a burden.  The CPC’s failure to act is glaring. Rather than implementing policies to protect workers, retrain employees, or create new opportunities, the government has embraced automation as a symbol of progress. The result is a widening gap between official rhetoric and lived reality. Workers describe exhaustion, hopelessness, and the feeling of being “half alive.” They recount years of dedication, endless overtime, missed meals, personal sacrifices, only to be discarded when efficiency metrics demanded it. For many, the tragedy lies not in ignorance but in awareness: knowing what is happening, yet being unable to act.  

The silence of the state is not neutral; it is complicit. By prioritising efficiency and technological advancement over human livelihoods, the CPC has abandoned its responsibility to the very generation that once fuelled China’s rise. The youth, burdened with debt and stripped of opportunity, are left to navigate a future where the good days feel over and the horizon offers no clear plans.  

China’s 2026 unemployment wave is not a temporary shock but the beginning of a cycle driven by AI adoption, economic slowdown, and structural flaws. It is reshaping the labour market, eroding the middle class, and undermining social stability. The stories of laid‑off workers, whether 26 or 35, single or married, with or without children, illustrate the profound uncertainty of a society where survival has replaced ambition.  

If the CPC continues to ignore this crisis, the consequences will extend beyond economics. The erosion of social confidence, blocked mobility, and worsening inequality may well become the seeds of deeper instability. For now, the voices of despair echo across China’s digital platforms, a reminder that progress without people is no progress at all.  (SCMP / Reuters /FT)