Overview
- A Mercer Global Talent Trends survey of roughly 12,000 respondents found more than 99% of executives expect AI to cause at least some headcount reductions within two years.
- About 98% of executives told Mercer they are planning organization design changes to integrate AI, yet only about one-third say workforces can optimally combine human and machine skills.
- Companies including Amazon, Atlassian, Block, Fiverr, Pinterest, and Snap have publicly linked recent layoffs to AI and independent reporting estimates roughly 50,000 AI-related job cuts occurred in 2025.
- The burden is falling on early-career workers: firms expect reductions to concentrate on junior roles, and Mercer reports employee thriving rates dropped from 66% in 2024 to 44% in 2026 with rising anxiety over displacement.
- Opinion and research conflict on long-term effects: some leaders argue technology spurs new jobs while academic studies show short-term demand rises mainly in augmentation-prone roles, and large-scale cuts could weaken companies’ future talent pipelines and raise turnover.