Employers Planning Major Workforce Changes

This week's news shows that many employers around the world are planning big changes because of artificial intelligence. Research from an organization in the United Kingdom called CIPD found that about 1 in 6 employers think AI will make their workforce smaller over the next year. Even more concerning, about 26% of large companies in the private sector expect to reduce the number of people they employ. The survey found that 62% of these employers believe that junior management jobs, office jobs, administrative roles, and professional entry-level positions are most likely to disappear because of AI. This means younger workers and people just starting their careers are facing the biggest challenges right now.

Young Workers Hit Hardest

The impact on young workers is especially clear in new research from Stanford University. Workers aged 22 to 25 years old who work in jobs that AI can do have experienced a 13% decline in employment compared to workers in jobs that AI cannot easily do. For software developers in this age group, the numbers are even worse - employment dropped nearly 20% from late 2022 to September 2025. This is a serious problem for young people trying to start their careers in technology and other fields. Young workers in the United States are finding it much harder to get their first jobs because companies are using AI instead of hiring new employees.

Job Cuts Reaching Highest Levels Since COVID

The number of job cuts announced by companies is reaching levels not seen since the coronavirus pandemic. According to data from job cut tracker Challenger, Gray & Christmas, nearly 950,000 job cuts had been announced in the United States by September 2025. October 2025 saw an even bigger spike, with 153,074 announced job cuts in just one month. Artificial intelligence is now the second most common reason for these job cuts, after general cost-cutting. Major technology companies are making massive layoffs - Salesforce cut about 4,000 workers after putting AI agents in place to do customer service work, and Amazon is laying off about 14,000 employees. The concerning part is that companies are now replacing not just entry-level workers, but also mid-skilled and even some high-skilled positions, including management roles.

Workers Using AI Daily Are Doing Better

There is good news for workers who are actually using AI in their daily work. According to a survey by PwC that talked to nearly 50,000 workers around the world, workers who use generative AI every day report big improvements in their jobs. These daily users are more likely to feel more productive (92% compared to 58% of people who use AI less often). Even better, daily users report higher job security (58% compared to 36%) and higher pay (52% compared to 32%). Daily AI users are also more optimistic about their future at work over the next 12 months - 69% feel good about their job future compared to only 44% of workers who do not use AI. However, only 14% of workers across the world are using AI every day. An even smaller group - just 6% of workers - are using the newest type of artificial intelligence called agentic AI on a daily basis.

The Training Problem

One of the biggest challenges right now is that workers are not getting enough training to use AI effectively. A major survey from EY that talked to 15,000 employees and 1,500 employers found a huge gap between how much AI companies are using and how ready workers are to use it. The survey found that only 12% of employees are getting enough AI training to fully benefit from these new tools. At the same time, 64% of employees feel that their workload has increased over the past year because they are being pushed to perform with AI. Worse, 37% of workers worry that using too much AI will make them lose their skills and expertise. Despite these concerns, only 5% of workers are actually using AI to fully transform how they work. This means most workers are struggling with AI instead of benefiting from it.

Performance Reviews Changing

Companies are starting to measure how well workers use AI when deciding on pay raises and promotions. The social media company Meta announced it will begin grading workers based on their AI-driven impact starting in 2026. This is a big change in how companies evaluate their employees. Instead of just looking at work quality, companies are now specifically looking at how well workers are using and working with AI tools.

What This Means for Workers

The week's news shows that workers face a complicated situation with AI. On one hand, workers who learn to use AI well can earn more money and feel more secure in their jobs. On the other hand, workers who do not have AI skills or whose jobs can be easily automated are at serious risk of losing their positions. The challenge is that most workers are not getting the training they need to compete in this new AI-powered world. Companies need to do a better job of teaching workers how to use AI, rather than just using AI to replace workers. For young people especially, the next few years will be critical for learning AI skills to protect their career chances.