This weekly update reveals how AI agents are creating major changes in workplaces around the world, with businesses making tough decisions about their workers.

American companies eliminated more than 10,000 jobs in the first seven months of 2025, with business leaders saying AI technology was the direct reason. This marks a historic shift where smart computer programs are replacing human workers at an unprecedented speed. The job cuts represent a new reality where artificial intelligence agents can now perform many tasks that previously required human workers.

Major companies are openly changing their hiring practices because of AI capabilities. Shopify's CEO told employees the company won't hire new people if AI agents can handle the same work. At consulting giant McKinsey, thousands of AI agents now do tasks that junior employees used to perform. Duolingo uses something called "AI fluency" to decide who gets hired and promoted, showing how deeply AI is affecting workplace decisions.

The technology industry suffered the most severe impact with over 89,000 layoffs announced this year, representing a 36% increase from 2024. Since 2023, companies have directly attributed more than 27,000 technology job cuts to AI automation. These numbers show that even the industry creating AI technology is cutting jobs because of what they built.

Young workers and recent college graduates face the biggest challenges in this new job market. Entry-level corporate positions dropped by 15% compared to last year, according to Handshake, a job platform for young workers. At the same time, job descriptions mentioning "AI" increased by 400% over two years. Nearly half of Generation Z job seekers believe AI has made their college degrees less valuable.

The problem affects young workers because AI agents excel at entry-level tasks. As one Yale professor explained, fresh graduates typically start with jobs involving data collection, transcription, and basic analysis - exactly what AI does well. Many managers now openly discuss reducing entry-level headcount because AI agents can handle these responsibilities.

Some forward-thinking businesses are investing in worker education rather than replacement. Debenhams, a major UK retailer, launched a £1.35 million AI Skills Academy to train over 1,000 employees. The program teaches workers AI literacy, prompt engineering, and data science skills. This approach represents a growing trend of companies preparing their workforce to collaborate with AI agents instead of being replaced by them.

Other businesses are deploying AI agents in customer-facing roles. White Castle introduced AI-powered delivery robots in Chicago that use computer vision to navigate and deliver food. Outreach, a sales platform company, released AI agents that automatically handle prospecting, follow-ups, and email sequences for sales teams. These examples show how AI agents are moving beyond simple automation into complex business operations.

Financial experts warn about long-term economic consequences. JPMorgan economists predict that white-collar knowledge workers - people like scientists, engineers, designers, and lawyers - could face unprecedented job losses during the next economic recession. Unlike previous downturns where office workers stayed relatively safe, AI agents might target these educated professionals for the first time.

The unemployment pattern among highly educated workers is already shifting in concerning ways. For the first time ever, workers from cognitive jobs (thinking-based work) now represent a larger share of unemployed people than manual workers. JPMorgan calls this an "ominous" sign that suggests white-collar workers face new risks from AI automation.

Interesting research from the Economic Innovation Group suggests the AI job impact might be more complex than feared. Their analysis shows unemployment rates actually rose faster for workers in jobs with low AI exposure compared to those in high-exposure positions. This finding challenges simple assumptions about which workers AI will affect most.

The retail sector also faces significant disruption, with over 80,000 job cuts announced through July - nearly 250% more than the previous year. However, some of these cuts relate to other economic factors like tariffs and inflation, not just AI automation.

Looking ahead, businesses must balance AI efficiency gains with workforce stability. While AI agents can reduce costs and increase productivity, the social and economic consequences of widespread job displacement could create new challenges for companies and society. The companies investing in worker retraining and AI collaboration may find better long-term success than those simply replacing humans with machines.