Alert in the Romanian IT industry: layoffs, salary freezes, and limited opportunities for entry-level positions. "Entire professions are being replaced," and it's not just a result of artificial intelligence

Thursday, Jul 30, 2026

HotNews

IT sectors in Romania, Czechia, and Lithuania face hiring freezes, layoffs, and salary stagnation due to AI and global economic pressures.

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[This is an automatically generated summary, for reference only]

The IT sectors in Romania, Czechia, and Lithuania are experiencing significant changes following a period of rapid growth. In Romania, hiring has slowed down, with thousands of layoffs occurring over the last two years and stagnant salary increases, partly due to increased competition from India’s large IT workforce and the impact of AI-driven automation across global tech companies. While some workers are moving into other digital roles, concerns remain about structural issues, particularly for entry-level programmers who face fewer job opportunities. Salaries in Romania have stagnated or slightly decreased in real terms, partly due to recent fiscal changes. In Czechia, layoffs are reported, sometimes citing AI as the reason, though experts suggest cost reduction is a primary driver, and the sector is currently in a period of weak demand. Lithuania is seeing a shift from general programmers to those skilled in AI architecture, with generative AI taking over basic programming tasks.

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