A new report has revealed that the tech sector has laid off more than 32000 employees, due to various factors.
One major factor that has affected job cuts is the introduction of Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning.
32000+ Job Cuts Due To AI and ML
A survey by US firm Challenger Gray has revealed that there is a significant threat from AI and automation to jobs in the tech sector. These jobs include programmers, management, lawyers, accountants, finance professionals, and consultants.
Some other factors accounting for these layoffs would be mismanaged recruitments, struggles with ad revenue, and a faltering economy.
As per the report, US companies have laid off as many as 82,307 people in January, representing a huge 136 percent increase in December. The job cuts in the financial sector are the highest, with 23,238 people laid off. This has been the highest figure since September 2018.
Whereas, the technology industry has laid off 15,806 cuts. The food production sector has laid off 6,656 people owing to increased costs and automation. Additionally, there were 5,364 layoffs by retailers and news outlets saw 528 layoffs in January, the highest monthly total in almost a year.
Main Reasons For Job Cuts
The main reasons for 28,329 layoffs job losses in January were cited to be “restructuring” and 14555 job cuts were credited to the “closing” of plants, stores, and units.
AI alone was blamed for 381 layoffs alone.
As per Challenger, 4628 layoffs are attributed to Artificial Intelligence since May 2023. It started when companies either shifted to developing AI and hiring in the related roles. AI also was used to replace some tasks and roles with it.
The report states, “The impact of rapidly advancing artificial intelligence adoption is beginning to be felt from a jobs perspective, particularly in Media and Tech, but truly across sectors. That said, companies are not outright blaming AI for many layoff decisions.”
On the other hand, there were 33,727 job openings in the AI and ML fields, as per a report by CompTIA. This is the highest monthly growth in a year.
