The growing use of artificial intelligence in the workplace is reportedly eliminating about 16,000 jobs per month in the United States.
That’s according to new research by Goldman Sachs, which examined the number of jobs being replaced by AI and the number being augmented by it. It found that 25,000 jobs per month had been lost to AI over the past year, while only 9,000 per month were augmented, meaning workers using AI to be more productive, potentially leading to an increase in hiring.
As observed in other studies on AI displacement, the brunt of these job losses is falling on entry-level roles such as data entry, customer service, admin, and help desk. Not only are workers in these fields facing higher rates of layoffs, but businesses are also reducing hiring or eliminating these roles entirely.
For college students seeking entry-level work, there has been an increase in the level of knowledge required at entry, with more expansive, technical roles replacing traditional one- or two-year stints as assistants or juniors. Goldman does note, however, that this cohort is the most tech-savvy and may be able to move into mid-level roles quickly by demonstrating proficiency with AI.
Alongside Gen Z being hit harder by the proliferation of AI tools, another study by the Brookings Institution and the Centre for the Governance of AI indicates that women will be hit harder by AI due to the disproportionately high number in administrative and clerical roles.
Major cutbacks from the tech industry
The job market is already experiencing a pullback in hiring and workforce size in the tech industry, which could be the largest decline in total jobs in the sector since 2023. According to data from the US Bureau of Labor Statistics, the economy lost 92,000 jobs in February, with 11,000 of those in the information sector.
Several major tech firms have announced layoffs in 2025 and 2026, including a 15,000 workforce reduction by Microsoft last year and several thousand roles being cut by Oracle this month. These are two companies benefiting the most from the apparent gold rush of AI infrastructure buildout and adoption, and both have framed the layoffs as their respective businesses doing more with less through AI.
AI breakthroughs, or AI washing?
Meta, Amazon, Block Inc., and others have also shed thousands of jobs over the past 12 months, using AI efficiencies as the rationale for layoffs. Atlassian laid off 10% of its workforce in March, calling it an AI investment, which turned sour news into a boost in its stock price.
Investors clearly like the idea of these large tech companies, which almost all went on hiring sprees during COVID, cutting back on hiring and open roles through AI. But some have questioned whether AI is the actual driver of these layoffs, or if it is being used as a convenient justification to correct the overhiring of 2020 and 2021.
OpenAI CEO Sam Altman, a16z investor Marc Andreessen, and a study by Oxford Economics all point to “AI washing” by tech companies as a way to turn layoffs into a positive stock-market message. That said, there is evidence that companies have reduced hiring for entry-level roles and are pushing managers and other mid-level staff to use AI in place of entry-level workers for administrative and support tasks.
Also read: As Meta faces scrutiny over layoffs and lawsuits, a $27 billion infrastructure deal shows how aggressively it is still expanding its long-term AI buildout.