As AI is making its way into every corner of daily life, one of the main fears people have is what it will mean for the workplace.
It is not unreasonable to worry about them. Many name-brand big tech companies, from Meta to Square, have already laid off thousands of employees in favor of the technology — a trend that sets up a natural experiment: Are these AI layoffs actually driving positive business outcomes?
That’s why a new study from Gartner immediately caught our attention. As Luck reportsThe research and advisory firm surveyed 350 global business executives whose companies are pulling in at least $1 billion annually to examine whether all these AI layoffs are paying off in the real world..
The first conclusion is that the trend is real, with a total of 80 percent admitting to reducing their human workforce in order to invest in AI or autonomous technology. But they say they had no idea that AI would actually generate any benefits – they were simply fulfilling the promise of automation through AI.
This is where things get interesting. A Gartner survey found that executives who cut their workforce to invest in AI experienced the same financial benefits as those who kept their employees. In other words, efforts to replace workers with AI are showing no detectable returns for these companies. And to make matters worse, many of these businesses specifically reduced their headcount to free up the cash needed for AI technology, meaning they sacrificed valuable institutional knowledge and employee goodwill.
The findings are not entirely surprising. An MIT study last year found that AI failed to generate meaningful revenue growth in most companies that adopted it.
Still, not everyone believes that all investments in AI are destined to backfire. Gartner analyst Helen Poitevin said Luck These drastic steps taken by the authorities may just be attempts to test AI, not that Reset the entire company structurally.
“We feel like this is kind of a one-time exercise for many people in small amounts, but not to get the full ROI from their AI investment,” Poitevin explained. Luck.
So which companies are seeing a real boom from AI?
The Gartner survey found that companies leveraging AI as a form of “people amplification” — meaning they give their employees AI tools to increase efficiency rather than directly replace them — are seeing the most significant benefits. However, that strategy is also dangerous: Previous research has shown that most employees are reluctant to use AI right now, with one survey showing that 54 percent avoid using in-house AI tools altogether.
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