‘AI talent war’: Big tech giants pour funds into hiring top AI experts

Despite laying off thousands, big tech companies are spending vast amounts to attract top AI talent, driving salaries to unprecedented levels in a fierce recruitment battle.

Despite a record surge in AI investment and continued momentum in tech stocks in 2025, major tech companies are simultaneously pursuing a relentless wave of ‘employee layoffs’. 

Meanwhile, the salaries for top AI researchers have soared, reaching astronomical heights.

What is happening in tandem is: 1. mass layoffs at mid-to-senior positions, and 2. an intense investment push in AI and compete for the world's top talent.

According to the latest figures from Layoffs.fyi, over 60,000 tech workers have already been laid off in the first half of this year, led by companies like Microsoft, Google, Amazon, Meta, and Intel. Since the start of 2023, the total number has surpassed 150,000. 

Meanwhile, some companies are pouring billions of dollars into attracting the best AI researchers, offering salaries as high as $284,000 per year (approximately 10.3 million baht), excluding bonuses and stock options.Mass layoffs impact middle-tier workers

The wave of layoffs in 2025 is not a result of poor financial performance but rather a ‘proactive strategy’ to funnel investments into a new battleground: Artificial Intelligence.

Microsoft serves as a clear example, having laid off over 16,000 employees in the first half of the year. In July, the company made an additional cut of 9,100 workers, or around 4% of its global workforce, to restructure in line with its expanded AI investments.

Similarly, Google offered voluntary exit packages to employees in departments like Search and Ads in June, while ramping up AI investment and cutting budgets for Android TV and Google TV by more than 10%.

Intel followed suit, announcing the layoff of 21,000 employees, or 20% of its global workforce, along with a leadership change, signalling that this trend is not just about downsizing but a structural reset. 

Amazon, meanwhile, has continuously reduced staff in its Alexa and Zoox teams.Meta also executed significant layoffs in its VR and Reality Labs division, as the company enters a new phase, recruiting top talent from OpenAI, DeepMind, Apple, and other leading AI companies to establish the Meta Superintelligence Lab. 

This new unit will focus on the development of advanced AI, specifically AGI, and is expected to be the core of Meta’s operations for the next 5-10 years.

Under this new structure, Meta has refrained from making dramatic layoffs, opting for a gradual restructuring approach, with layoffs focused on specific groups. 

The company is reducing roles that are misaligned with its AI strategy, reallocating resources to hire highly specialised talent.

Positions most impacted include Software Engineers, Project Managers, HR, Customer Service, and mid-level roles, which were once the key cogs in the growth of the tech industry.

‘Talent War’

Behind the mass layoffs of tens of thousands is the fierce competition in the high-end AI industry, particularly between Meta, OpenAI, Google, and Microsoft.

Data from Visa Workforce Insights Q1 2025 reveals that in the first quarter of 2025, Microsoft offered a salary of up to $284,000 for AI Software Engineers. On LinkedIn, a subsidiary of Microsoft, some positions offered salaries as high as $336,000 per year.

Meta is the most aggressive player in this battle, having reportedly recruited 8 senior researchers from OpenAI within a single week in June. Meta also established Meta Superintelligence Labs to consolidate all its research efforts in one place.

OpenAI CEO Sam Altman even remarked, “It feels like someone broke into our house and stole our stuff,” after losing a significant number of researchers to Meta, despite efforts to counter the talent loss with over $4.4 billion in stock bonuses.

Companies Choosing a Different Path, Avoiding Layoffs

Amid the trend of layoffs and fierce talent wars, some companies have opted for a different approach. Instead of rushing to lay off staff, they are quietly developing AI in a more measured manner. One example is Apple, which has yet to announce any major layoffs, even as it accelerates the development of Foundation Models for iOS and future products. Apple has chosen a strategy referred to as ‘Ambient AI,’ seamlessly integrating AI into its operating system without focusing on high-profile models like Gemini or ChatGPT.

Not only is Apple refraining from layoffs, but it is also focusing on using internal resources as the foundation for its AI research, particularly through Apple Machine Intelligence and the newly formed Apple Foundation Models Group, established in early 2024. The company has also attracted top researchers from Google, Meta, and AI startups that failed in the AI bubble.

Meanwhile, traditional tech companies like IBM and Oracle are focusing on Enterprise AI, a large but less glamorous market, without resorting to major layoffs. 

In contrast, IBM has intensified its “AI Skills Build” programme to reskill over 30,000 employees globally to work with Watsonx, its core AI platform.

Oracle has taken a similar approach, focusing on AI in database systems and cloud infrastructure for enterprise customers, rather than competing to create large-scale LLM models like other tech giants.

These companies stand out for not chasing the fastest or the biggest game but instead focusing on developing internal skills aligned with the market’s true growth trajectory.

Good Attrition: A Positive Spin on Layoffs

On the other side, tech companies are redefining layoffs with a more ‘positive’ approach. Microsoft has implemented a new system called Good Attrition, focusing on voluntary departures, particularly for employees on a Performance Improvement Plan (PIP). Employees who do not meet performance criteria are offered the option to leave voluntarily with a Global Voluntary Separation Agreement (GVSA) package.

Satya Nadella, CEO of Microsoft, has stated that this restructuring is “not because those people failed, but because the company’s new direction requires new skills.” 

Meta has adopted a similar approach, announcing a 5% workforce reduction in January, describing it as a cut of "low performers" to prepare for a challenging year ahead.

Kunyaphak Tissri

(2025/07/17-00:00)