One-sixth of British employers expect AI to lead to job cuts.

The latest survey from the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development in the UK shows that about one-sixth of UK employers expect artificial intelligence to lead to a reduction in the number of employees in the next 12 months, with junior and administrative positions being the most severely affected. The survey covered over 2,000 businesses, with 17% of employers stating that AI applications will trigger layoffs; among the companies expecting to reduce their workforce, 62% believe that secretarial, junior management, professional, and administrative positions are at the highest risk. Large companies such as Amazon and PricewaterhouseCoopers have recently initiated global layoffs. Large private companies are the most significantly affected, with 26% expecting to reduce their staff, compared to 17% in the overall private sector and 20% in the public sector. Among employers expecting AI to lead to layoffs, a quarter believe that the layoffs could exceed 10% within a year. In October, Amazon announced the removal of around 14,000 positions, while PricewaterhouseCoopers laid off 5,600 people in the past fiscal year and invested $1.5 billion in expanding AI capabilities. The impact of AI combined with economic pressures is causing a significant slowdown in recruitment in the UK. According to data from ManpowerGroup, the UK ranks first in terms of the decline in recruitment intentions among 42 countries, with reasons including "rising costs, AI disruption, and policy uncertainty." James Cockert, Senior Labor Economist at the CIPD, warned that while AI has significant productivity potential, it could "leave many people behind" and called for national initiatives to promote retraining programs, focusing on entry-level workers in fields such as finance, insurance, information technology, and administration. A spokesperson for the UK government stated that they will work with technology companies to help one-fifth of the workforce acquire AI skills, having invested 187 million in developing digital and AI training programs and creating thousands of new jobs nationwide.