SIGN OF THE TIMES- AI is coming for your jobs. The latest artificial intelligence developments could make it equipped to take over around 300 mn positions across the US and the eurozone, the Financial Times reports, citing Goldman Sachs research. Most of those working full time will be able to automate half of their workload using AI, freeing them for more “productive activities.” AI advancements could increase productivity, pushing the annual global GDP up 7% over the coming decade.
Who could get the boot? Goldman Sachs names lawyers and administrative assistants among those most likely to be let go and replaced with AI systems.
That wave of tech layoffs isn’t actually contained to the tech world: Nearly half a mn jobs in different sectors across the world have been cut since October, Bloomberg reports, citing its own data. Although tech giants such as Meta and Amazon account for a massive chunk of these layoffs, Bloomberg’s analysis shows that the recent wave of layoffs is sector agnostic, with the consumer discretionary sector accounting for the second-largest number of job cuts (108k positions) after tech. The financials, industrials, and communications sectors come in next, with each sector seeing more than 40k layoffs since October.
Who’s been spared: The energy sector saw the smallest number of job cuts in the past six months, with fewer than 4k layoffs, according to Bloomberg’s analysis. Energy companies — including oil majors Exxon Mobil and Chevron — have had a bumper year thanks to higher oil prices in the wake of Russia’s war in Ukraine.