Photo: Bloomberg
Companies around the world are increasingly openly acknowledging that they are cutting jobs due to the adoption of artificial intelligence technologies.
Previously, employers avoided such statements to prevent backlash, but the situation is changing, Bloomberg reports. In September, Germany's Lufthansa announced it would cut 4,000 positions by the end of the decade, partly due to AI implementation. Danish bank ING Groep NV stated that around 1,000 jobs are at risk because of digitalization, AI, and changing customer needs. Gaming company Krafton also paused hiring due to AI-related impacts.
In the U.S., AI was officially cited as the reason for 48,414 job cuts in 2025, with 31,039 occurring in October alone, according to Challenger, Gray & Christmas. The rapid rise is attributed not only to more active AI adoption but also to an overall increase in planned layoffs.
American companies that had long maintained large workforces are now cutting staff due to risks linked to Donald Trump’s tariff policies, trade wars, and declining consumer demand. According to Robert Half COO George Denlinger, some layoffs stem from overhiring during the pandemic, and references to AI are sometimes used as a formal explanation.
Large corporations investing heavily in AI often frame layoffs not as AI replacing specific jobs but as a need to reallocate resources toward development and infrastructure. This has been the case at Amazon, Microsoft, and Oracle, which are investing billions in chips, data centers, and AI specialists.
Even when companies do not explicitly link AI to job cuts, they increasingly use it as a rationale to raise expectations for new employees. Shopify CEO Tobi Lütke, in an internal memo earlier this year, told staff that "teams must demonstrate why they cannot achieve the desired outcome using AI" before requesting headcount increases.
As reported at the end of October, Amazon plans a major workforce reduction, potentially affecting up to 30,000 office employees—nearly 10% of all corporate positions. The move aims to reduce costs and improve management efficiency. Although Amazon employs hundreds of thousands globally, this could be the company’s largest layoffs in history.
