Between 2023 and 2025, the global IT sector experienced significant workforce reductions. The wave of layoffs affected both large tech corporations in the United States and increasingly more companies in Europe, including Poland. While the COVID-19 pandemic had previously led to an employment boom in the IT sector, the post-pandemic period saw a shift toward consolidation, cost optimization, and a reevaluation of business models—especially in areas dependent on advertising or speculative growth.
A shift in the labor market
Layoffs in the IT sector began in earnest in late 2022 and early 2023, when companies such as Meta, Google, Microsoft, and Amazon announced large-scale job cuts. In Poland, similar trends emerged in 2023 and intensified in 2024. Thousands of specialists—including programmers, testers, analysts, UX/UI designers, and project managers—found themselves without work. Employers cited the need for restructuring, reduced demand for digital services, rising costs, and—more frequently—growing pressure to incorporate AI into existing structures.
AI as a driver of change
One of the key factors behind the layoffs was the rapid advancement of generative artificial intelligence. Many companies, instead of expanding traditional IT teams, began investing in smaller but more specialized AI departments—focusing on model implementation, automation, and data processing. As a result, many roles—especially in front-end development, testing, and customer service—were either consolidated or eliminated.
It is important to emphasize that AI did not replace all jobs directly. Rather, it changed the structure of employment. Companies preferred professionals who could work with AI tools, manage hybrid processes, or combine technical knowledge with business competencies. This led to growing polarization in the job market—between those who adapted to the new reality and those who were left behind.
The situation in Poland
In Poland, the effects of this transformation were twofold. On the one hand, the domestic market—largely based on outsourcing and service centers—was heavily impacted by global decisions. Projects were frozen or moved to cheaper locations. On the other hand, many Polish companies began experimenting with their own AI solutions, which created new opportunities for some specialists.
Layoffs were particularly visible in large IT hubs such as Warsaw, Kraków, and Wrocław. However, they also affected mid-sized firms and startups that had previously grown thanks to access to venture capital. When the flow of capital dried up in 2023–2024, many of them had to scale down or close altogether.
Remote work and new forms of employment
Another important factor was the normalization of remote work. While it had initially helped many IT professionals maintain employment during the pandemic, by 2024–2025 it began to work against them. Companies, having mastered remote management tools, increasingly outsourced tasks abroad—particularly to Asia, Latin America, and Eastern Europe—where labor costs were significantly lower. As a result, Polish specialists began to face competition not only locally but globally.
Moreover, many companies moved away from full-time employment in favor of flexible contracts, gig work, and outsourcing platforms. This shift significantly weakened job stability and made career planning more difficult. Many IT professionals were forced to become freelancers or accept short-term contracts, which not only increased uncertainty but also limited access to social security and benefits.
Summary
The layoffs in the IT sector between 2023 and 2025 were not a temporary correction but a sign of deep and lasting transformation. The convergence of automation, the normalization of remote work, offshoring, and the rise of AI fundamentally changed the structure of the technology job market—also in Poland.
For many professionals, this period meant the end of the golden era of IT. For others, it opened up new opportunities—but only for those able to quickly adapt and expand their competencies. It is becoming increasingly clear that the future of IT belongs to those who can combine technological knowledge with flexibility, business thinking, and the ability to work in a global and rapidly changing environment.
Consequences for employees and recruiters
The discussed macroeconomic, legal, and technological factors have had a direct impact on the professional situation of both employees and recruiters in the IT sector in Poland. A significant part of the burden of adaptation to the changing conditions has been borne by employees – especially programmers, testers, project managers, and other IT specialists.
The reduction of jobs in IT has led to increased competition for positions, which is particularly noticeable in the case of junior-level roles or positions requiring fewer years of experience. More and more often, candidates with several years of experience apply for junior roles, while recruitment processes – even for mid-level positions – are lengthening and involve more stages. Companies expect not only technical knowledge but also greater business understanding and adaptability to rapid changes.
At the same time, for recruiters and HR departments, the situation has become both more difficult and more dynamic. On the one hand, the growing number of candidates increases the need for more advanced filtering and verification methods, including the use of ATS systems, AI-based CV analyzers, and skills tests. On the other hand, the decrease in hiring in some companies has led to the downsizing of internal recruitment teams or the reduction of recruitment budgets, especially in companies undergoing restructuring or focusing on cost optimization.
In this new environment, soft skills such as flexibility, communication, openness to reskilling or upskilling, as well as the ability to work with AI tools, have become key assets in the job market. Recruiters are also increasingly expected to possess business competencies and the ability to conduct data-driven recruitment that aligns with the company's strategy and current market realities. A change in the perception of job security in the IT sector
One of the most significant consequences of the layoffs in the IT industry between 2023 and 2025 has been a change in how employment in the sector is perceived – both by employees and by the general public. Until recently, IT was considered one of the most stable and future-proof industries, offering high salaries, dynamic development, and relatively low risk of unemployment. However, mass layoffs, especially in large global corporations, have undermined this belief.
Many Polish IT professionals who had previously worked remotely for foreign companies – often American or German – found themselves without work from one day to the next due to global cost-cutting and restructuring. For some, this was the first experience of job loss in a sector that had long seemed immune to economic fluctuations.
This has led to a growing interest in greater employment stability – for example, through permanent contracts (umowa o pracę) instead of B2B contracts – as well as an increased openness to positions in the public sector, local companies, or less “glamorous” but more predictable areas of IT. At the same time, a new awareness has emerged of the need for continuous learning and flexibility in the face of market shifts and technological change, especially regarding the growing role of AI and automation.
Consequences for recruiters and hiring strategies
The wave of layoffs in the IT sector between 2023 and 2025 also significantly impacted the work of recruiters and hiring strategies in both tech companies and firms with internal IT departments. First, it increased the availability of experienced candidates, which for a time shifted the market from an employee-driven one (employee’s market) to an employer-driven one (employer’s market) – especially for mid-level positions.
Recruiters had to adapt to the new situation: instead of struggling to find any qualified candidate, they could now focus on assessing soft skills, cultural fit, or long-term potential. At the same time, companies more frequently verified the real experience and skills of candidates who had worked remotely for years or jumped between multiple startups.
In Poland, these changes also meant a temporary increase in the competitiveness of local job offers, as some candidates – after being laid off by foreign employers – returned to the domestic market, often with high expectations shaped by previous earnings in dollars or euros.
In the longer term, the layoffs led to a greater emphasis on efficiency and return on investment in recruitment. Companies began to more closely analyze the profitability of creating new positions, invest in internal talent development, and adopt more cautious hiring strategies – including delaying recruitment for certain projects until business justification was clear.