Yandex plans hundreds of job cuts amid IT sector cost optimisation

Russian tech giant Yandex is planning staff reductions that could affect several hundred employees, particularly in key areas such as Search Services and AI, sources familiar with the matter told Kommersant. 

The potential cuts come as the IT sector faces economic pressure and trims costs across personnel, marketing, and HR functions.

Insiders report that Yandex may close certain business units this year and optimise staffing within them. The reductions are expected to impact the commercial department and select products within Search Services and AI, including the marketing research service Yandex Vzglyad. The closure of Vzglyad was previously reported by Sostav, with Yandex stating the move would allow resources to be redirected toward “more promising products.”

According to one source, one of the advertising departments within the commercial arm of Search Services and AI has already been largely eliminated, while small and medium business units now have an additional quality control team to help management make future cost-reduction decisions.

Yandex employs around 95,000 people, having reduced headcount by 2% last year, according to company filings. Sources cite the decision to optimise Search Services and AI as a response to “poor public financial results.” In 2025, the unit recorded one of the weakest revenue growth rates among all Yandex divisions, with overall revenue rising just 10%—far below other major business lines. Search Services and AI accounts for 34% of the company’s total revenue, making it the second-largest segment. Advertising revenue growth in the fourth quarter of 2025 fell to 8.7%, a fourfold decline from the first quarter, while emerging formats like Smart TV, DOOH, and retail media grew up to thirty times faster, sources note.

Another insider emphasised that Yandex is reducing costs to channel investment into its AI business. The company told Kommersant that it continues hiring and developing talent and does not plan to close business units.

Darya Tsiruleva, HR director at KORUS Consulting Group, said most IT companies are currently cutting costs, including staff, production, marketing, and HR expenses. Major players have reduced spending by 10–15% over the past year. The optimisation policies are influenced by economic instability, with “less money circulating in the market” and businesses investing only in IT projects with quick payback, she added. The industry has also cooled after a 2022–2023 “overheating” phase, with demand falling 10–15% year-on-year for specialists handling migration from foreign software to domestic systems.

Another industry source indicated that big tech companies may cut up to 20% of surplus personnel, either by halting hiring in certain units or through mergers and the closure of business lines.

Denis Tverskoy, partner at Strategy Partners’ Operational Efficiency practice, noted that big tech is reducing staff specifically to support AI development: routine tasks are being automated, and the saved resources are reinvested into neural networks and new products. He also highlighted that, starting in 2026, increased payroll taxation and changes to the tax framework make maintaining an oversized workforce “an unaffordable luxury.”

By Jeyhun Aghazada