Laid off from ServiceNow.

What ServiceNow layoffs have meant for employees

ServiceNow disputes that employees were blindsided, pointing the San Diego Union-Tribune to the many times Bill McDermott said headcount would hold steady. Some employees answered with his own catchphrase, "Trust is won in drops and lost in buckets." McDermott has also put the plan in gentler terms, telling CNBC that ServiceNow expected to begin 2027 with the headcount it began 2026 with and explaining, "As you have attrition in the company, you don't have to backfill it." By June the company had layoff notices on California's WARN report. In a statement on its layoffs, it told Salesforce Ben that its platform was producing real AI efficiencies inside its own business. If attrition was the version you heard, the notices showed it wasn't the whole of it, and it makes sense if that still stings.

The cuts came alongside growth and spending. Revenue rose 23% in the second quarter, the Union-Tribune reported, and Calcalist counted about $7.75 billion in cash for Armis in April among the year's deals. The limit ServiceNow named in July was the number of people, and its statement to the Union-Tribune that month paired the layoffs with hiring for AI-focused skills. If you're thinking about going back someday, it's worth comparing any posting you find against that July priority.

In San Diego, the July round reached senior people and the teams customers deal with. More than half of the San Diego jobs on that notice were senior and director-level, and customer success, customer support and product success lost 30 positions between them, the Union-Tribune reported. Software quality engineer was the largest single title, with 10, the second time quality engineering has surfaced, after unverified posts on Blind in October 2025. Those posts described engineers expected to move into developer roles with a skills bar attached and termination possible for anyone who fell short of it. If you were offered a move into another role, it's worth asking what the new job expects and what happens if you don't meet it. If you're interviewing after a senior-level cut like these, our piece on explaining a layoff may help when someone asks why you left.

ServiceNow was recording severance costs well before 2026's notices. Its 2025 annual report records $74 million in severance costs for 2025 and none for 2024 or 2023, and the second-quarter 2026 release shows that quarter's severance costs at more than twice the same quarter of 2025. If a package is on the table for you, those company-wide totals can't show whether yours is typical, so it's worth asking HR how it was calculated and comparing notes with people cut at your level. Our piece on negotiating a severance agreement covers how to ask for a second look.

The California notices capture one slice of a workforce that was about half outside the US at the end of 2025, by the annual report's count. If you were let go outside the US, your job won't be on a California notice, so it's worth keeping every message HR sends about dates and pay. If you're among the Expert Services staff moving to Tata Consultancy Services, it's worth asking ServiceNow in writing what happens to your RSUs when you move, a question NowBen reported was already being raised.

If you're still at ServiceNow and reading the rumor threads, the unnamed sources behind Investing.com's report said social posts putting the cuts at 3,000 to 5,000 overstated the scale. If your job was one of the California positions, our page on California unemployment benefits covers filing a claim there, and our page on California layoffs shows which other employers in the state have filed notices, which helps if you're weighing companies nearby.

A sourced history of ServiceNow layoffs

• July 2026, Santa Clara, San Diego and Israel layoffs

  Notices dated July 28 set 154 jobs in Santa Clara and 133 in San Diego to end September 28, the Los Angeles Times reported. The round also reached Israel, where some employees were dismissed, Calcalist reported.

• June 2026, Santa Clara and San Diego layoffs

  Notices dated June 10 put 54 Santa Clara jobs and 63 in San Diego on California's WARN report, effective August 17, both listed as permanent layoffs.

• October 2025, quality engineering cuts, per employee posts

  Unverified posts on Blind said ServiceNow had eliminated its quality engineer role, with most of the function's managers and senior staff laid off. A commenter listed as a ServiceNow employee wrote that the cuts took QE managers from senior manager to VP.

What to do if you're laid off from ServiceNow

• File for unemployment in the state where you worked. Benefits run from your filing date, and severance usually doesn't block you. ServiceNow's biggest hubs: California. Somewhere else? Every state is here.
• Apply for financial and hardship assistance. Unemployment supplements income, but food benefits, health coverage and utility help are often available as well. Here's some of what ServiceNow's hub states run: California, and every other state is here.
• Mind the health insurance window. Losing coverage opens a 60-day special enrollment period, and an ACA plan usually beats unsubsidized COBRA. Compare your options before the employer coverage lapses, and read how the COBRA clocks run if you are weighing it seriously.
• Get your real runway number. Severance plus savings divided by reality. The calculator takes five minutes.
• Know which clocks are already running. Severance review windows, COBRA election, visa grace periods, and 401(k) rollovers all run on federal deadlines that started at termination. All five deadlines are here.