Mercer, the consulting firm, found 99% of CEOs envision AI-driven layoffs in the short term.
The survey of 12,000 C-suite executives, HR leaders, employees and investors showed an overwhelming majority expect AI "to lead to at least some headcount reduction in the next two years," and reported that the share of workers who say they "feel good at work" fell from 66% in 2024 to 44%.
Young professionals aged 22 to 27 face the highest displacement risk as companies target routine, codifiable tasks that traditionally trained junior hires, and Standard Chartered has said it plans to cut 7,000 jobs to replace "lower-value human capital" with automation.
Oliver Wyman’s global CEO survey echoed the trend, reporting the share of companies actively reducing junior roles rose from 17% to 43% in a year, that AI is a top-three priority for most CEOs with more than 90% deploying or intending to deploy it, and that only 27% say AI ROI has met or exceeded expectations (down from 38%) while nearly 25% saw no revenue impact.
Mercer also found just 32% of executives believe their firms can effectively combine human labour with AI, and around 40,000 tech workers lost jobs in the first quarter of 2026.
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Labour analysts at Challenger, Gray & Christmas say AI is the most-cited reason for cuts but is frequently used as a smokescreen for overhiring corrections and outsourcing.
A Chinese court ruled that companies cannot replace workers simply because "AI can do a better job."
