ZURICH, July 23 — Artificial intelligence (AI) will not trigger a collapse in employment despite concerns the technology will displace large numbers of workers, a study by staffing company Adecco Group showed today.
Employers have cited AI as responsible for nearly a quarter of job cuts in the United States this year, global outplacement firm Challenger, Gray & Christmas said.
Microsoft this month said it is cutting about 2.1 per cent of its workforce, joining HSBC Holdings, Amazon and Standard Chartered in a wave of layoffs as they shift investment toward AI.
But Denis Machuel, CEO of Zurich-based Adecco, the world’s largest staffing company, told Reuters some companies are using AI as a cover for cuts caused by weaker performance, restructuring or other problems.
“AI is bringing a massive evolution in the world of work, but a job apocalypse is not on the horizon,” he said. “It’s more about changing roles and tasks than eliminating jobs.”
Three and a half years after the release of OpenAI’s AI chatbot ChatGPT, employment rates are at record highs and unemployment near historic lows, Adecco said, citing data from the France-based Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) about its 38 members.
Previous industrial revolutions from the advent of steam, electricity, information technology and the internet have transformed work without causing mass job destruction, Machuel said.
“With the data we have so far, there’s no evidence we will have a different scenario with AI,” he added.
Some entry-level jobs are disappearing but employers cannot simply cut junior positions without damaging talent pipelines, Machuel said.
Companies must reinvent such jobs so AI can complement them, Machuel said, noting that upskilling, reskilling, and closer collaboration among companies, governments and education systems is essential.
