Executives Plan AI Job Cuts Despite Emergence of New Roles
Mercer and Gartner report that nearly all CEOs expect AI-driven headcount reductions, even as LinkedIn and the World Economic Forum identify millions of new AI-centric roles.
A series of reports from Mercer and Gartner indicate a widespread executive expectation that artificial intelligence will trigger significant workforce reductions. A Mercer survey of 12,000 participants found that over 99% of executives expect AI to cause employee headcount reductions within two years, with 98% planning organizational changes to integrate automation. Gartner reported that 80% of executives at billion-dollar companies have already reduced staff, with some cuts reaching 20%.
These trends follow 2025 layoffs affecting 50,000 jobs at companies such as Amazon, Atlassian, and Snap. However, Gartner notes that these reductions have not always improved financial returns. Companies including Klarna and IBM reportedly reversed automation decisions or rehired staff after experiencing declines in quality or an inability of AI to handle complex judgment calls.
Conversely, data from LinkedIn, McKinsey, and the World Economic Forum suggests AI is simultaneously creating a new class of professional roles. LinkedIn reports the addition of 1.3 million new positions, identifying AI Engineer as the fastest-growing title in the United States. The World Economic Forum projects a net gain of 78 million jobs by 2030, anticipating 170 million new roles will offset 92 million displacements. This shift toward an agentic organization introduces new functions, such as AI Governance Leads and AI Agent Architects, where humans supervise AI agents.
