Staffing company says AI won't trigger employment collapse

AI will not trigger a collapse in employment despite concerns the technology will displace large numbers of workers, a study by staffing company Adecco Group ADEN.S showed on Thursday .

Employers have cited AI as responsible for nearly a quarter of job cuts in the United States this year, global outplacement firm Challenger, Gray & Christmas said.

MicrosoftMSFT.O said this month it was cutting about 2.1% of its workforce, joining HSBC Holdings HSBA.L, Amazon AMZN.O and Standard Chartered STAN.L in a wave of layoffs as they shift ‌investment toward AI.

But Denis Machuel, CEO of Zurich-based Adecco, the world's largest staffing company, told Reuters some companies were using AI as a cover for cuts caused by weaker performance, restructuring or other problems.

"AI is bringing a massive evolution in the world of work, but a job apocalypse is not on the horizon," he said. "It's more about changing roles and tasks than eliminating jobs."

Three and a half years after the release of OpenAI's AI chatbot ChatGPT, employment rates are at record highs and unemployment near historic lows, Adecco said, citing data from the Paris-based Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development about its 38 member countries.

Previous industrial revolutions from the advent of steam, electricity, information technology and the internet have transformed work without causing mass job destruction, Machuel said.

"With the data we have so far, there's no evidence we will have a different scenario with AI," he added.

Some entry-level jobs were disappearing but employers could not simply cut junior positions without damaging talent pipelines, Machuel said.

Companies needed to reinvent such jobs so AI can complement them, Machuel said, noting upskilling, reskilling, and closer collaboration among companies, governments and education systems was essential.

-Reporting by John Revill;Editing by Rod Nickel/Reuters