Shocking Report: Over 8,000 Israeli Tech Workers Left the Country in Less Than a Year

A troubling new report from the Israel Innovation Authority, titled “Long-Term Relocation in High-Tech”, reveals that approximately 8,300 Israeli tech professionals have relocated abroad for a year or more since the outbreak of the war in October 2023. This figure represents roughly 2.1% of the entire high-tech workforce in Israel.

The report, released Monday morning, marks the first documented decline in employment in Israel's high-tech sector in over a decade, and reflects a broader shift in workforce distribution—favoring international hires over domestic ones.

Key Findings:

The data is based on cross-referenced figures from the Population and Immigration Authority and Israel’s Central Bureau of Statistics.

Why Are They Leaving?

The report attributes the surge in departures to growing political instability, national security uncertainty, and a stagnant local employment landscape. Unlike previous years where tech employment outpaced the broader labor market, the growth rate has now plateaued.

Companies like Waze, Gett, and Sygnia—all privately held Israeli tech firms—now employ over 50% of their workforce abroad, including core R&D teams, long considered Israel's strongest advantage in the global tech race.

Even more concerning is the situation among public Israeli companies like Check Point, NICE, and Wix, which now employ only 60,000 workers in Israel out of 260,000 globally.

Wider Implications:

The exodus is not just about numbers—it’s reshaping the structure of Israel’s tech sector:

The AI Effect & Urgent Recommendations:

The report also flags the impending impact of artificial intelligence, which is expected to reduce staffing needs across the industry, adding urgency to the need for structural adjustments in education and workforce training.

Dror Bin, CEO of the Innovation Authority, stated:

Among the key recommendations are :