Nvidia · Meta · Apple · TechCrunch AI
AI was supposed to kill engineering jobs, but new data suggests they’re the most resilient
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Whether AI is already replacing jobs is the subject of fierce debate.
Key facts
- While total hiring across large tech companies dropped 25% compared to 2019 levels, engineering roles saw a much smaller decline of 11%, according to SignalFire’s latest “ State of Talent Report
- In fact, engineers comprised 55% of all new hires in 2025 across the 12 companies SignalFire classifies as “Tech Majors”, Alphabet, Meta, Apple, Amazon, Microsoft, Netflix, Nvidia, Tesla, Uber
- The continued need for engineers was even more evident at early-stage startups, which collectively brought on 7% more engineers in 2025 than they did in 2019, SignalFire’s data shows
- SignalFire’s analysis, which tracked the careers of millions of employees across more than 80 million companies, suggests that engineering was the most resilient job function in 2025
Summary
Tech layoffs hit their highest single month total in years in May, and AI was the most-cited reason, according to outplacement firm Challenger, Gray & Christmas. Software engineering, in theory, is the professional field most vulnerable to automation, given the rapid adoption of AI-powered coding tools. “The rationale given for lots of layoffs is consistently AI, and specifically they’ll say AI about code; they’ll say one engineer could do the job of however many engineers in the past,” said Asher Bantock, SignalFire’s head of research. SignalFire’s analysis, which tracked the careers of millions of employees across more than 80 million companies, suggests that engineering was the most resilient job function in 2025.