AI-driven layoff predictions are becoming the new US top management race

Anthropic CEO Dario Amodei said in late May that half of entry-level positions could disappear in the next five years due to artificial intelligence, and the unemployment rate in the US will rise to 20%. His words became the catalyst for a new corporate trend – publicly predicting large-scale layoffs under the influence of AI.

While Amodei was one of the first to speak so frankly about the consequences of AI, similar statements have been made before. At JPMorgan’s investment day, the head of the bank’s retail division, Marianne Lake, said that AI will allow for a reduction of up to 10% of the workforce. And Amazon CEO Andy Jassy warned employees in June that technological changes would lead to a significant reduction in the number of employees.

The tone of the statements became especially harsh. ThredUp CEO noted that AI will destroy “far more jobs than most people think.” But the most radical statement came from Ford CEO Jim Farley: according to him, artificial intelligence will “literally replace half of all white-collar workers in the United States.”

According to the Wall Street Journal, this shift in rhetoric is strikingly different from the more cautious statements of previous years. Whereas business elites previously talked about “possible transformation,” now they are directly preparing the market for mass restructuring.

Some industry leaders continue to urge not to overdramatize, pointing to the possibility of creating new professions. However, intensifying competition among top managers makes pessimism about the future of work a kind of corporate trend — and a signal of change, regardless of society’s readiness.