In the Ukrainian IT sector, cases of layoffs due to the implementation of AI are already being recorded, but most often IT professionals lose their jobs due to optimization in companies.
In the Ukrainian IT sector, cases of layoffs due to the implementation of AI are already being recorded, but most often IT professionals lose their jobs due to optimization in companies.
This is evidenced by the data of a new DOU survey, in which 628 specialists in Ukraine and 184 abroad participated during March-April 2026.
The most popular reasons for job loss among IT professionals are internal optimization in companies (38%) and lack of funding (32%).
Additionally, optimization was more likely to be the reason for layoffs among non-technical professionals (47% compared to 36% among technical professionals). For technical professionals, however, the key risk factors were contract termination or sudden closure or halting of projects by clients.
«At the same time, there is reason for cautious optimism: compared to 2025, there have been fewer layoffs due to the customer’s refusal or suspension of the project, both in Ukraine and abroad,» the study emphasized.
Artificial intelligence has already begun to influence personnel changes in the Ukrainian IT industry, although the scale of this phenomenon is still insignificant.
Only 5% of IT specialists reported being laid off due to automation and the replacement of their functions with AI algorithms — and this figure is the same for both those working in Ukraine and Ukrainians abroad.
Let us remind you that, according to a DOU study, 17% of Ukrainian IT professionals have lost their jobs over the past year .
