ServiceNow Layoffs Hit US, UK and India as AI Restructuring Continues

ServiceNow layoffs have hit staff in the United States, the United Kingdom and India, as the enterprise software company pushes ahead with a restructuring built around artificial intelligence. The company confirmed the latest round of cuts on 5 November 2026, but it has not said how many roles are being removed. The cuts form part of a workforce programme tied to AI-driven efficiencies and hiring in strategic areas, which the company expects to be substantially complete during 2026.

ServiceNow described the move as a structural change rather than a simple headcount reduction. In a statement quoted by Calcalist and People Matters, the company said: "We are making necessary changes to how we are structured. We are driving efficiencies across the business, actively investing in and hiring for AI-focused skills, and managing headcount with discipline to end 2026 where we started, as we shared earlier this year." The message is consistent: roles are being removed in some areas while the company hires in others, with the overall headcount target unchanged.

ServiceNow layoffs come with rising severance costs

The scale is visible in the company's own filings, even though the number of affected roles has not been disclosed. ServiceNow reported US$87 million in employee severance and related costs in the third quarter of 2026, against US$24 million in the same quarter a year earlier. For the first nine months of 2026, severance and related costs reached US$167 million, against US$53 million in the same period last year. The filing describes the programme as an effort to optimise the workforce through AI-driven efficiencies and investment in talent in key strategic areas.

The company recognises termination costs when employees receive notification, according to its filing, so the figures reflect cuts already communicated to staff. The filing does not break down the costs by country or function, and the latest announcement does not say which teams have been affected.

The cuts land against a sharp fall in the share price. ServiceNow shares have fallen more than 30 per cent since the start of 2026, and dropped 35 per cent between 23 October and 5 November 2026, including a fall of about 27 per cent the day after the third-quarter results. The fall followed fourth-quarter subscription revenue guidance of 18.5 per cent growth, below the 19.8 per cent analysts had expected.

A third round of cuts in 2026

The November round is the third wave of ServiceNow layoffs in 2026. The company cut several hundred roles in June, then hundreds more in late July, when staff in Israel were among those affected. Reporting in July put the planned reduction at up to 1,000 roles, roughly 3 per cent of the global workforce, although ServiceNow has never confirmed that figure. A layoff tracker counts four California WARN filings covering 404 workers in 2026.

ServiceNow began 2026 with around 29,000 full-time employees and now sits at approximately 30,000. On the third-quarter earnings call, chief executive Bill McDermott described a shrinking workforce as a "gorgeous situation" and said headcount had slightly declined. Chief financial officer Gina Mastantuono said sales operations headcount was down significantly, while the number of quota-carrying salespeople had grown by double digits. She tied the broader hiring slowdown to AI efficiency gains the company says exceed US$1 billion a year.

The pattern is now familiar across enterprise software. Companies are using AI tools to handle routine work, then reshaping teams around the staff who build, sell and support the AI products themselves. ServiceNow has said AI will boost productivity so it will not need to backfill open jobs, and it has been hiring for AI-focused roles even as it removes roles elsewhere. For workers, the lesson is direct: the safest ground is the work the company is investing in, not the work it is automating.

What the ServiceNow layoffs mean for tech workers

For technology workers watching the ServiceNow layoffs, the signal is wider than one company. Canva cut 1,271 jobs this week as part of its own reorganisation, and some companies that cut roles for AI reasons have already had to rehire them, which shows the restructuring wave is still finding its shape. The roles most exposed are in operations, support and enablement functions, where AI tools can already take on routine tasks. The roles still being hired are in AI engineering, data, sales of AI products and the specialist skills around them.

Workers in India are affected alongside colleagues in the US and the UK. ServiceNow has a substantial presence in India, and the cuts there show that no geography is shielded when a company restructures around AI. Indian tech workers should treat AI skills as core career insurance: workflow automation, AI agent design, data engineering and the domain knowledge that AI tools still need from people.

What to do next

If you work at ServiceNow, check your internal email for your own position first, and read any severance terms in full before signing anything. Keep a record of your role, tenure and any written communication about the changes. If your role is affected, update your CV with the AI-adjacent work you have done, including automation, workflow design and data projects, since that is where hiring is concentrated.

If you are a jobseeker, look at the AI-focused roles ServiceNow says it is hiring for, and at similar roles across enterprise software, where demand for AI skills remains strong. Short courses in AI agents, automation platforms and data tools can be completed in weeks. Check the company's careers page directly, and treat any third-party message asking for payment to apply as a scam: ServiceNow, like other large employers, never charges to apply.

The wider picture is that 2026 has become the year enterprise software companies stopped adding headcount by default. ServiceNow aims to end the year where it started, with a different mix of skills inside it: a smaller, more AI-shaped workforce, and the workers who adapt first will have the best options.

Company	ServiceNow, US enterprise software company
Latest cuts confirmed	5 November 2026
Countries affected	United States, United Kingdom, India
Number of roles cut	Not disclosed by the company
Severance costs Q3 2026	US$87 million, against US$24 million a year earlier
Severance costs, first nine months of 2026	US$167 million, against US$53 million a year earlier
Programme aim	End 2026 with the same headcount as the start of the year
Share price in 2026	Down more than 30 per cent; down 35 per cent between 23 October and 5 November 2026
Earlier rounds in 2026	June and late July; hundreds of roles each time
Headcount	About 29,000 at the start of 2026; about 30,000 now

Sources: Tech in Asia at https://www.techinasia.com/news/servicenow-cuts-jobs-in-us-uk-india-in-ai-restructuring on the cuts and the filing figures; People Matters at https://www.peoplematters.in/news/strategic-hr/servicenow-layoffs-hit-uk-us-and-india-as-company-restructures-workforce-53222 on the company statement, severance costs and share price fall.