Tech industry is all set for another round of layoffs. Microsoft is preparing to cut thousands of jobs, primarily in its sales division, as the company sharpens its focus on artificial intelligence (AI), according to a Bloomberg News report. This will be the second round of layoffs by the tech giant in 2025. In May, Microsoft eliminated around 6,000 positions across departments.
Amazon CEO Andy Jassy also acknowledged this transformation in a recent internal memo, stating that AI will reduce the need for certain roles while creating demand for new ones. “As we roll out more Generative AI and agents, it should change the way our work is done,” Jassy wrote. “We will need fewer people doing some of the jobs that are being done today, and more people doing other types of jobs.”
“Completely unlawful, but happens a lot”
Amid this wave of restructuring, a post on the anonymous workplace platform Team Blind went viral, sparking concern that pregnant women are severely affected by layoffs in tech companies. “Pregnant women are being laid off and fired left and right. Are pregnant women being targeted by big tech? I have seen at least 15 such posts by pregnant women in the last few weeks,” the post read. The responses were swift and emotional.
“Patriarchy is not nice to women,” one user commented. Another wrote, “We froze our eggs to boost our careers, and now that many of us are nearing our 40s, it’s time to use those eggs. Except now to be fired for being pregnant. This country has no protection for its employees — and of course pregnant women (and POC) are easy targets.”
One user highlighted that the issue isn’t just about pregnant women: “We see this way too often. Completely unlawful, but happens a lot. Also see partners get PIPed when they take parental leave. Completely ridiculous. I really like taking these cases.”
Another user added, “Both men and women take time off and it’s the right thing to do to support them. In tech, there are probably more parents who are MEN than women. Both parents need time and we should be supporting both. I’ve never complained about this even once — it’s the right thing to do to support new parents.”
“I have been pregnant twice at big tech, yes it’s hard for pregnant women. But it’s harder for breastfeeding women, even much harder for women with toddler kids,” noted a user. “In general, it’s hard for anyone who wants to build a family.”
Another user shared a personal story of being laid off while pregnant after a recent miscarriage, ” My director asked me sweetly if I was planning to have kids at the Christmas party. I had recently had a miscarriage and had taken two weeks leave to recuperate (legal holiday in my country). That’s it — the next month I was up for layoff while pregnant. The director was super smug and said she was sorry to hear that I was pregnant.”
She continued, “It stings, especially since I had put in years into the company to get my well-deserved maternity break. Anyways, I just didn’t have the time and mental space to fight an impossible maternity discrimination lawsuit while pregnant. So, I decided to move on and find another job before I have the baby. Many companies said no or retracted their offers after interviews. The teams had no issues with pregnancy — the deal would fall through at leadership or HR level and the head count would just vanish.
I started discussing the pregnancy in beginning recruiter rounds, so I didn’t have to go through the rounds if there was no possibility. The discrimination is real. BTW, most companies would not have to pay me any maternity leave pay. Just the assurance to return to work at a determined time without stress.
I did get a job at a supportive employer — they were super supportive during and after the maternity leave. But no big name company would entertain me. BTW, I have a number of big names on my resume, 13+ years of experience including PhD.
This is the state of our world. I would think about having a third kid, but all this is just not helpful. We don’t support good humans to have babies.”