AI shockwave: Some companies cut jobs — others go on massive hiring sprees

Fear of AI replacing jobs is no longer just speculation: It's a reality many companies openly acknowledge in 2025.

The overall trend in 2025 shows a wave of layoffs in traditional roles due to AI automation and efficiency.

At the same time, many have targeted hiring in AI-centric positions to leverage the new technology for growth and innovation.

More than 180,000 tech jobs were cut across 218 companies, with AI cited as a main driver for restructuring alongside economic factors.

Here's a list of companies laying off employees due to AI and those that are hiring thanks to AI advancements in 2025:

Job disruption

Companies laying off because of AI

• Amazon: Planning to cut up to 30,000 corporate jobs, with 14,000 jobs already cut, attributing layoffs in part to AI-driven efficiencies across corporate operations, cloud, HR, and AWS. CEO Andy Jassy noted AI as a major factor in workforce reduction, as per Reuters.

• Microsoft: Laid off around 15,000 workers over multiple rounds, initially starting with 9,000 positions with some cuts attributed to AI-driven restructuring. 

• Meta (Facebook): Reduced its workforce by about 5% or 4,000 positions, citing AI-related efficiency and shifting company priorities 

• Intel: Reportedly planning to reduce global workforce initially by 15,000, eventually rising to about 24,000 employees (~22%), driven by restructuring and technology shifts including AI. 

• Tata Consultancy Services (TCS): Cut nearly 12,000 jobs initially, eventually hitting 20,000 employees, especially mid and senior level roles, amid AI-driven changes. ​

• Salesforce: Cut 4,000 customer support jobs, pointing to AI handling about half of the workload, CNBC reported.​

• Klarna: Reduced workforce by 40% as it integrates AI solutions aggressively,

• Lufthansa: Announced plans to cut 4,000 jobs by 2030, citing AI for operational efficiency. ​

• Scale AI: Laid off over 1,000 contract workers.​

• IBM: Plans to replace around 30% of back-office roles with AI over the next five years, estimated at roughly 8,000 jobs, according to tech media. ​

• Duolingo: Intends to shift from contractors to AI-assisted workforce.​

• Atlassian: Noted productivity improvements with AI may reduce workforce needs in call centres.​

Job creation

Meanwhile, AI is spurring new job creation in AI research, engineering, and related fields, creating a mixed but transformative impact on employment landscape.

Major companies hiring because of AI

• Microsoft: Actively increasing headcount with a focus on AI-driven productivity and technology development, including partnerships with OpenAI and investing heavily in AI tools. ​

• Meta (Facebook): Recruiting aggressively for AI and machine learning roles following workforce restructuring, focussing on elevating AI talent standards.​

• Alphabet (Google): Expanding AI teams after merging DeepMind with Google Brain to accelerate AI development, with hiring across engineering, product, and research functions.

• IBM: Quietly hired thousands after laying off 8,000 amid its AI drive.​

• OpenAI: Hiring for engineering, research, and operations roles to push forward AI model development and safety innovations. ​

• Lambda: A cloud GPU provider for deep learning, hiring engineers and researchers to support AI hardware and software advancements. ​

• Dataiku: Hiring staff across engineering, product, and marketing to support AI and data science platforms.​

• Grammarly: Investing in AI-powered language tools, hiring across engineering and product teams.​

• Other AI startups and emerging companies: Many are hiring for roles including AI engineers, machine learning specialists, data scientists, and AI ethics officers​

BY THE NUMBERS: AI replacing jobs

• 300 million jobs could be lost to AI

• AI could force 14% of all workers to change career by 2030

• High earners are most concerned about AI taking their jobs

• 47% of all US workers could see their roles come under threat from AI in the next decade

• Automating half of current tasks worldwide could take another 20 years

• 60% of the jobs in advanced economies are at risk of being replaced by AI

• But just 26% of jobs in low-income countries are similarly exposed

• And only 3% of workers with less than a high school diploma are in work considered "most exposed" to AI job losses

• Workers aged 18-24 are 129% more likely than workers aged over 65 to worry that AI will make their job obsolete

• 15% of workers in the US would consider having an AI boss

(Source: Goldman Sachs)