The business world is going through big changes this week because of artificial intelligence, and workers everywhere are feeling the effects. Companies are moving faster than rules and policies can keep up, which means workers do not always know what is happening to their jobs.

Record Job Cuts Hit the United States

In October 2025, American companies announced the biggest round of job cuts in more than twenty years. 153,074 workers lost their jobs, which is a huge 175% jump from the same month last year. Even more shocking, this means that over 1 million jobs have been cut so far this year through October. The technology industry led the way with the most job cuts, announcing 33,281 layoffs in October alone, which is much higher than the 5,639 cuts in September.

Business leaders said two main reasons caused the layoffs. The top reason was cost-cutting, which caused 50,437 announced job losses in October. The second biggest reason was artificial intelligence, which led to 31,039 job cuts that month. This shows that companies are increasingly comfortable using AI to do the work that people used to do. Other reasons included market problems, store closings, and restructuring.

AI Is Cutting Jobs Worldwide

The problem is not just in America. In the United Kingdom, one in six employers said they expect AI to shrink their workforce over the next year. Even more worrying, almost two-thirds of those employers believe that clerical jobs, junior manager jobs, and admin jobs are most likely to disappear. Large private companies are most likely to cut workers, with one in four large private firms expecting to reduce staff. Among companies planning to cut workers because of AI, some expect to lose more than 10% of their workforce.

Manufacturing Sees AI Differently

Not every industry sees AI as only bad news. Manufacturing companies are finding that AI can actually help workers do better jobs. Company leaders say that AI helps workers communicate better, work together as teams, and come up with new ideas. They believe this makes workers' jobs better and more valuable, not worse. However, manufacturers also say they need to teach workers new skills and update job descriptions to match what AI can and cannot do.

Companies Struggle to Make AI Work

Here is something surprising: even though companies are spending tons of money on AI, most are not seeing real benefits. A recent study found that only about 5% of organizations report that their AI investments are actually helping them. One big reason is that managers are not always supporting their teams to use AI tools. Research shows that when managers actively encourage AI use, employees are much more likely to actually use it and find it helpful.

One example is Salesforce, a huge software company that promised big things from their new AI agent project called Agentforce. However, current and former employees say there is constant struggle to deliver what company leaders promised. Workers say it is so confusing that it is a full-time job just figuring out what the AI can actually do versus what was only promised. This shows that even companies fully committed to AI find it very hard to make it work.

New Laws Being Created

Lawmakers in the United States are worried about what AI is doing to jobs. Two senators from different political parties introduced new laws to require companies to report how AI is affecting their workers. They say that experts think AI could cause unemployment to go up to 10% to 20% in the next five years. The goal of these new laws is to give workers and the government better information about what is really happening with AI and jobs.

What This Means for Workers

While manufacturers see AI as creating better jobs, many other industries see it as a threat to employment. The workers most at risk are those just starting their careers or in lower-level professional roles. Experts warn that when jobs become scarce, opportunity gets rationed, and history shows this often hurts women the most. Companies and governments are now trying to figure out how to help workers learn new skills for an AI-powered world.