Overview
- Consultancy tallies attribute 31,039 October layoffs and 48,414 cuts so far in 2025 to automation and AI, with Amazon planning up to 30,000 reductions, Intel about 25,000, and Meta roughly 600.
- A joint ILO–NASK study finds about one in four jobs worldwide at risk of transformation from AI, with exposure higher in high‑income economies and concentrated in administrative and highly digital roles.
- McKinsey reports most organizations still in experimentation or pilot phases as workflows are redesigned, with declines expected in service operations, supply chain and marketing while hiring grows for AI roles such as data scientists and ML engineers.
- Executives warn that internal data silos are the chief bottleneck to scaling AI, with Databricks citing that roughly 95% of needed data sits in ERP/CRM and warehouses and overall penetration near 4–5% in many firms.
- Governance and privacy gaps are evident, as IBM data show more than 38% of employees admit sharing confidential work information with AI tools, spurring calls for stronger controls, training, and vetted platforms, alongside education shifts toward creativity and care‑economy skills and record investment likened to ‘ten Manhattan Projects.’