Corporate America Sounds Alarm: AI Could Eliminate Half of White-Collar Jobs

AI job predictions become corporate America's newest competitive sport | TechCrunch

In late May, Anthropic CEO Dario Amodei appeared to kick open the door on a sensitive topic, warning that half of entry-level jobs could vanish within five years because of AI and push U.S. unemployment up to 20%. But Amodei is far from alone in sharing aloud that he foresees a workforce bloodbath. A new WSJ story highlights how other CEOs are also issuing dire predictions about AI's job impact, turning employment doom into something of a competitive sport. Actually, several of these predictions came before Amodei's comments. For example, at JPMorgan's annual investor day earlier in May, its consumer banking chief Marianne Lake projected AI would "enable" a 10% workforce reduction. Then, in a note last month, Amazon's Andy Jassy warned employees to expect a smaller workforce due to the "once-in-a-lifetime" technological shift that's afoot. ThredUp's CEO said at a conference that AI will destroy "way more jobs than the average person thinks." Not to be outdone, Ford's Jim Farley delivered perhaps the most sweeping claim yet, saying last week that AI will "literally replace half of all white-collar workers in the U.S." It's a dramatic shift from executives' previous cautious public statements about job displacement, notes the Journal. Indeed, the outlet notes that while some tech leaders -- including from powerful AI companies -- have proposed that fears are overblown, the growing string of warnings suggests massive restructurings are coming, whether people are ready for them or not.

Ford CEO latest to claim AI will wipe out half of white collar jobs in the U.S. -- 'AI will leave a lot of white-collar people behind'

Others disagree, though, and CEOs often like to hype up potential savings and profits Ford CEO Jim Farley said in a recent interview that he believes "half of all white-collar workers in the U.S." could lose their jobs to artificial intelligence (AI) in the coming years. Although other executives, like Nvidia's Jensen Huang, claim otherwise, Farley is not alone in his predictions. A number of other business leaders have been quoted this year saying that the workplace as we know it will change dramatically due to AI, and that's going to mean redundancies as per WSJ. The debate over the impact of AI on workers and their employment status has been hot for the past few years. Some of the biggest fear-mongers come from the AI industry itself, with the CEO of Anthropic, Dario Amodei, recently stating that he thought half of all white collar workers would be replaced by AI, and that this could spike unemployment to 20%. Although an argument could be made that Anthropic benefits from overhyping the capabilities and potential impact of AI, other CEOs in non-affiliated industries are also sounding warning bells. Along with Ford's Farley, Fiverr's CEO Micha Kaufman said in a staff memo earlier this year that it didn't matter what field you were in, "AI is coming for you." The CEO of Shopify, Tobi Lütke, was quoted as telling workers to only make new hires if AI couldn't do the job instead. IBM has reportedly replaced several hundred of its HR workers with AI agents. There are also reports that Microsoft is internally trying to use AI for more tasks, which could be a factor in its latest round of layoffs. The CEO of JPMorgan Chase also said in May that it could see its headcount being cut by 10% in the coming years as it makes use of new AI tools in its business. Amazon's CEO, Andy Jassy, told employees in June that it expected its overall corporate workforce to be reduced over the coming years. This may come in line with its expanded use of robotics across its logistics network. However, CEOs are known to want to share exciting potential for new efficiency savings and potential profit expansion to stockholders and the media, and not every executive is convinced that AI will have such a devastating effect on the employment of millions of workers around the world. Nvidia's Huang has previously said he "pretty much disagree[s] with almost everything," that the Anthropic CEO said about the potential dangers of AI. OpenAI's COO, Brad Lightcap, also stated on the "Hard Fork" podcast recently that there has been little evidence so far that AI has replaced entry-level jobs on a large scale and that any such change won't be as swift or as broad as others claim. It may be that certain jobs are displaced, but that others become more important in turn. Following IBM's reduction in HR staff, it actively hired more programmers and salespeople. Others argue that AI will simply make workers more efficient, increasing productivity, rather than reducing the need for workers altogether.

Ford CEO joins list of execs warning AI could eliminate millions of white-collar jobs

TL;DR: Ford CEO Jim Farley has joined a growing chorus of prominent business leaders warning that AI could replace millions of jobs in the near future. Speaking at the Aspen Ideas Festival, Farley said he believes that "literally half" of all white-collar workers in the US could lose their jobs to artificial intelligence in the coming years. Farley did not elaborate on his views, but he is hardly the only Fortune 500 CEO who believes AI could spell trouble for educated white-collar workers. Leaders at Amazon, Shopify, JPMorgan Chase, Anthropic, Fiverr, Moderna, and other major companies are now openly admitting what was once discussed in hushed tones on Wall Street and in Silicon Valley. Earlier this week, Amazon CEO Andy Jassy warned that the rapid improvement in generative AI will make many positions redundant within the company. Speaking to CNBC, Jassy said that while AI will replace some roles, it will likely create new opportunities in robotics and other areas requiring STEM skills and technical proficiency. Anthropic CEO Dario Amodei has also warned that AI could eliminate half of all entry-level white-collar jobs, potentially increasing unemployment by 10 - 20 percent within five years. The company's CPO, Mike Krieger, expressed a similar view, telling The New York Times that he feels "hesitant" hiring new graduates because he doesn't know how long those positions will remain relevant. Fiverr CEO Micha Kaufman recently echoed these concerns, warning that AI could render millions of white-collar workers unemployed, regardless of whether they're programmers, designers, product managers, data scientists, lawyers, customer support reps, salespeople, or financial analysts. Spotify and Moderna CEOs have also expressed similar views. Spotify's Tobi Lütke has paused hiring pending an internal study to evaluate whether AI can efficiently perform tasks currently done by human employees. Moderna's Stéphane Bancel, meanwhile, believes the company will not need more than "a few thousand employees," thanks to the growing availability of powerful AI tools. Recent research suggests that workers are taking these warnings seriously. According to a May 2025 study by PYMNTS Intelligence, 54 percent of US workers believe generative AI poses a significant risk to their jobs, with the most educated and tech-savvy individuals expressing the highest level of concern. One notable exception to this growing list of AI doomsday prophets is Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang. He dismissed predictions of large-scale job displacement as "overly alarmist" and pushed back on Dario Amodei's warnings. Huang has advocated for transparent and collaborative AI development as a way to mitigate potential risks.

Ford, JPMorgan, Amazon Executives Predict Deep Job Cuts as AI Advances | PYMNTS.com

By completing this form, you agree to receive marketing communications from PYMNTS and to the sharing of your information with our sponsor, if applicable, in accordance with our Privacy Policy and Terms and Conditions. Ford CEO Jim Farley delivered one of the starkest warnings yet, telling the Aspen Ideas Festival that "artificial intelligence is going to replace literally half of all white-collar workers in the U.S." JPMorgan's consumer banking chief, Marianne Lake, recently told investors she expects a 10% reduction in operations headcount as AI tools are deployed. Amazon CEO Andy Jassy has also cautioned staff to expect a smaller corporate workforce, attributing the shift to the "once-in-a-lifetime" nature of the technology. AI company Anthropic CEO Dario Amodei has gone further, predicting that half of all entry-level jobs could disappear within five years, potentially pushing U.S. unemployment to 20%. "The Ford CEO's comments are among the most pointed to date from a large-company U.S. executive outside of Silicon Valley," The Wall Street Journal wrote. "His remarks reflect an emerging shift in how many executives explain the potential human cost from the technology. Until now, few corporate leaders have wanted to publicly acknowledge the extent to which white-collar jobs could vanish." This new candor reflects a shift in boardroom conversations. Executives who once hedged on the topic now acknowledge that AI-driven automation, software and robotics are being rapidly integrated to streamline operations. Some firms, like Shopify and Fiverr, have announced hiring freezes unless a role cannot be done by AI, while others, such as IBM and Moderna, have consolidated positions or replaced hundreds of HR staff with AI agents. Despite the grim outlook, some tech leaders, including OpenAI's COO Brad Lightcap, argue the fears may be overstated, noting limited evidence so far of mass entry-level job replacement. Recent research from PYMNTS Intelligence shows that these warnings resonate with the workforce. According to a May 2025 report, 54% of U.S. workers believe generative AI poses a significant risk of widespread job displacement, with concern highest among those most familiar with the technology. While artificial intelligence is widely seen as boosting productivity, the same research found that workers who use generative AI regularly are more likely to fear that their own roles could be automated. PYMNTS also notes, however, that some experts and studies suggest AI may be more likely to augment than fully replace jobs in the near term, especially where human expertise remains critical.