Last month, almost 4,000 people lost their jobs due to artificial intelligence (AI), marking the first time AI has been cited as a reason for job losses, according to a monthly report from labor consulting firm Challenger, Gray, and Christmas. The report found that 3,900 of the reported 80,000 job cuts in May were due to AI, with most of the cuts taking place in the tech sector. The report also noted that the months between January and May witnessed 417,500 lost jobs, representing the worst five-month start to a year since 2020, when the pandemic caused over 1.4 million layoffs. While the trend of AI-induced job losses is expected to continue, it remains uncertain if the number of jobs created by AI will exceed those eliminated. It is also possible that companies may be hesitant to reveal AI as a motivation for layoffs.
The report from Challenger, Gray, and Christmas, a Chicago-based labor consulting firm founded in 1966, noted that particular job loss in the tech sector was attributed to AI. The report also lists market and economic conditions, cutting costs, restructuring, and mergers and acquisitions as reasons for other job cuts.
BT Group’s CEO, Philip Jansen, was mentioned in the article as revealing plans to cut 55,000 jobs between 2020 and 2025 but replacing 10,000 of these jobs with AI technology. British multinational telecommunications company BT Group, formerly British Telecom, is headquartered in London and has a revenue of more than £22 billion.
