Study: Layoffs due to AI are not a profit guarantee
Firing people plus AI investments equals more profit – companies cannot necessarily rely on this equation, according to Gartner.
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Saving human employees due to AI does not necessarily pay off for companies, as a survey by market researchers at Gartner has shown. Around 80 percent of the companies surveyed that are testing AI-based automation of business models have also reduced staff. However, this job reduction has not resulted in improved capital returns for everyone.
The survey therefore found that layoff rates were almost the same among respondents who recorded higher returns from autonomous technologies and those who achieved only modest profits or negative results. “Workforce reductions may create budget room, but they do not create return,” explains Gartner analyst Helen Poitevin the survey result. She considers the approach of many CEOs to achieve quick returns from AI through layoffs to be misguided.
“Organizations that improve ROI are not those that eliminate the need for people, but those that amplify them by aggressively investing more in skills, roles, and operating models that allow humans to guide and scale autonomous systems,” Poitevin explained. 350 executives from companies with annual revenues of at least one billion US dollars who are currently testing or implementing AI agents and comparable automation technologies were surveyed.
Demand for labor expected to rise
Gartner market researchers predict that spending on AI agent software will reach 206.5 billion US dollars in 2026 and 376.3 billion US dollars in 2027. This would be a significant increase compared to the 86.4 billion US dollars in 2025.
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In Gartner's scenario, the increase in autonomously acting machines also means a growing demand for human labor. This involves new forms of work that AI cannot take over. “Lasting structural factors such as demographic decline and high-stakes, trust-dependent consumer moments will ensure human talent remains central to running, governing, and scaling autonomous business,” said Poitevin. Overall, she estimates that autonomous business will create more work for humans, not less.
(axk)
