CDW has confirmed layoffs as part of a broader cost-cutting effort tied to its push to embed artificial intelligence across the organization. The Illinois-based firm, ranked No. 5 on the outlet’s 2026 Solution Provider 500, declined to say how many employees were affected.
A CDW spokesperson said in a statement that the company “recently made organizational changes—which included coworker reductions—to sharpen our operating discipline and reinvest in the highest-return, highest-growth opportunities, including focusing our resources where our customers need us most.” The statement added that the changes “further position CDW to continue delivering the outcomes our customers need and expect in the AI era.”
The layoffs follow CDW’s “Geared For Growth” AI-first initiative, which targets up to $200 million in cost savings.
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What the CEO Said About Job Cuts
During the company’s first fiscal quarter 2026 earnings call in May, analysts pressed CDW CEO Christine Leahy on whether the cost savings would lead to layoffs. Leahy said the initiative is “focused on driving effectiveness into our sales and customer-facing organizations, but equally embedding AI across our core end-to-end processes which will indeed drive efficiency.”
She said the savings would come from “both increased productivity as well as cost savings, and having our co-workers leverage their time, skills and capabilities in a more valuable way.” Leahy did not directly confirm whether headcount reductions were planned at that time.
The possibility of job cuts had been in the air for months. Sources told the outlet in July that CDW had initiated a round of layoffs. It did not disclose the number of impacted employees in that round either.
This isn’t the first time CDW has cut staff.
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CDW laid off between 450 and 750 employees in April 2023.
Former Employees Speak Out on LinkedIn
Several former CDW employees have taken to LinkedIn to discuss the layoffs. One former security employee confirmed in a message to reporters that layoffs were happening but declined to provide details. Another employee who was let go from the company’s corporate real estate business praised CDW in a LinkedIn post for the opportunity to drive successful project outcomes via strategic project leadership and advanced design programming.
A business development employee who was just let go posted that, while being laid off is never easy, it is “an opportunity to grow and take on a new challenge in my career.”
