99% of CEOs are planning AI layoffs in the next 2 years — and entry-level workers will see the biggest hit. Prepare now

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Evangelists of artificial intelligence, arsenic good arsenic leaders successful that manufacture (1), accidental they judge the estimates of occupation losses owed to AI are vastly overblown. CEOs, though, are admitting a antithetic story.

A caller survey from consulting steadfast Mercer finds that virtually each leader is readying to chopped jobs owed to the transformative exertion (2). The 2026 Global Talent Trends study spoke with 825 C-suite leaders, on with 1,650 HR leaders and a jaw-dropping 99% of the executives surveyed said they expect AI to pb to astatine slightest immoderate headcount simplification successful the adjacent 2 years.

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Nearly arsenic galore (98%) said they are besides readying enactment plan changes successful that aforesaid clip period.

Meanwhile, conscionable 32% of the CEOs surveyed said they believed the workforce tin harvester some quality and instrumentality idiosyncratic capabilities successful an optimal manner, contempt conscionable nether two-thirds saying they felt that redesigning enactment to incorporated automation volition thrust the top instrumentality connected investment.

Bad quality for grads

The discouraging survey numbers could beryllium particularly atrocious quality for entry-level workers. It could besides exacerbate an already worrying concern for caller assemblage graduates.

In the archetypal 4th of 2025, the occupation marketplace for 22-to-27-year-olds “deteriorated noticeably,” according to a New York Fed study (3). And things could beryllium getting worse.

A abstracted consulting steadfast survey by Oliver Wyman earlier this twelvemonth recovered that the fig of CEOs who were looking to trim the fig of inferior roles successful the adjacent 2 years jumped from 17% successful 2025 to 43% this twelvemonth (4).

A increasing fig of companies are pointing to AI arsenic the crushed for caller layoffs. Meta, which laid disconnected 8,000 employees connected May 20 (5), cited exertion arsenic the reason. (Another 7,000 workers were reassigned to AI initiatives.) Pinterest, Dow and Amazon person besides indicated AI was down caller layoffs (6).

Read More: Here’s the mean income of Americans by property successful 2026. Are you falling behind?

AI risks

While CEOs mightiness beryllium showing much favoritism towards AI these days, they mightiness privation to cheque with their CFOs and selling departments. Although investors are embracing the technology, consumers are progressively pushing back.