Google and Zillow are eliminating another 143 jobs in Washington state, adding to a growing wave of layoffs, empty offices and high-profile departures that has steadily weakened the Seattle area’s employment and tax base.
BREAKING: The Washington State Employment Security Department received a WARN that Zillow will be permanently laying off 91 workers beginning October 5
— Ari Hoffman (@thehoffather) August 5, 2026
Google disclosed that it will permanently cut 52 Washington employees, including workers based in Seattle, Kirkland, Redmond and remote positions across the state.
DEVELOPING: The Washington State Employment Security Department received a WARN for Google, which will be permanently laying off 52 workers beginning Sept 6.
I am also hearing Microsoft is laying off people locally as well.
Still think it is because of AI? https://t.co/bnZCiSieZt
— Ari Hoffman (@thehoffather) August 5, 2026
The affected positions reportedly include software engineers, engineering managers, product managers, recruiters, designers and other technical employees. The layoffs are expected to take effect between September and early October.
Google did not publicly offer a detailed explanation for the reductions.
Meanwhile, Seattle-based real estate company Zillow will permanently lay off 91 Washington employees as part of a larger restructuring affecting more than 500 workers worldwide.
Many of the Washington cuts involve senior and highly compensated positions, including directors, principal engineers, senior software engineers, senior product managers and research employees.
Zillow has characterized the reductions as an effort to make the company more efficient and place “the right people in the right roles.” The company has denied that artificial intelligence was the primary cause of the layoffs, despite several AI and machine-learning positions appearing among those affected.
The latest cuts add to the thousands of jobs already eliminated by the region’s largest employers, illustrating a larger trend.
Microsoft has cut more than 3,100 jobs statewide, while Amazon has eliminated more than 2,300 positions in the Seattle area. Meta has also laid off hundreds of Washington employees while reducing major office commitments.
Previous reporting has placed Seattle-area tech layoffs above 20,000, contributing to rising unemployment and weakening demand for downtown office space.
Starbucks, one of Seattle’s most recognizable corporate institutions, has repeatedly reduced its local footprint while expanding operations in Tennessee. The coffee giant previously announced approximately 1,300 corporate layoffs, many connected to its Seattle headquarters operation. Company employment at its headquarters has reportedly fallen substantially from 2023 levels, while Starbucks has also closed Washington locations and shifted some positions elsewhere.
At the same time, Starbucks is developing a roughly 250,000-square-foot corporate operation in Nashville that could eventually accommodate as many as 2,000 workers.
Starbucks maintains that Seattle remains its global and North American support headquarters. But its layoffs, Washington reductions and growing Nashville presence have fueled questions about whether the company is gradually shifting its corporate center of gravity away from the city where it was founded.
The consequences are visible across downtown Seattle.
Seattle’s central business district had an office vacancy rate of just 6.7 percent in 2019. This year, it climbed to approximately 37 percent, the highest office vacancy rate in the US — leaving nearly one out of every three downtown office spaces vacant. The Downtown Seattle Association has also reported that downtown lost approximately 30,000 jobs after Seattle adopted its JumpStart payroll tax in 2020. Between 2020 and 2025, downtown Seattle office-property values reportedly fell 48 percent, while downtown Bellevue office values increased 7 percent.
This year, Washington Democrats approved a new 9.9 percent income tax on annual income above $1 million, a measure commonly called the “millionaire’s tax.” The legislation marked a dramatic departure for a state that had long promoted itself as having no personal income tax. The tax targets some of the state’s most mobile executives, entrepreneurs, investors and professional athletes, people who can often change their residency or move their businesses more easily than middle-income workers.
One of the highest-profile examples came from Starbucks founder and former CEO Howard Schultz, who reportedly announced his move to Florida on the same day lawmakers passed the tax.
A survey by the Association of Washington Business found that 44 percent of employers were considering moving their personal residence out of Washington, with 64 percent citing taxes as their primary concern.
Seattle Seahawks General Manager John Schneider warned that the income tax could erase one of Washington’s longtime recruiting advantages over teams in states such as California. Agents, he said, have already noticed that Seattle can no longer be marketed as a destination without a personal income tax.
Meanwhile, Seattle officials are considering still more taxes as the city confronts a projected $488 million budget deficit over three years.
Mayor Katie Wilson has said options could include a local capital-gains tax or an expansion of the JumpStart payroll tax — even as the city’s employment base, office values and sales-tax collections continue to deteriorate.