ZURICH – 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 on July 23.
Employers have cited AI as responsible for nearly a quarter of job cuts in the United States in 2026, global outplacement firm Challenger, Gray & Christmas said. Microsoft said in July it was cutting about 2.1 per cent of its workforce, joining HSBC Holdings, Amazon and Standard Chartered in a wave of lay-offs as they shift investment towards AI.
But Denis Machuel, CEO of Zurich-based Adecco, the world’s largest staffing company, told Reuters some companies were 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 Paris-based Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development about its 38 member countries.
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 were disappearing, but employers could not simply cut junior positions without damaging talent pipelines, Machuel said.
Companies needed to reinvent such jobs so AI can complement them, Machuel said, noting upskilling, re-skilling, and closer collaboration among companies, governments and education systems is essential. REUTERS
