Companies' efforts to cut costs by laying off workers and replacing them with artificial intelligence could soon backfire financially. According to forecasts by international research company Gartner, by 2029, almost a third of employees laid off due to the introduction of AI will have to be rehired — and at much more expensive conditions.
Companies' efforts to cut costs by laying off workers and replacing them with artificial intelligence could soon backfire financially. According to forecasts by international research company Gartner, by 2029, almost a third of employees laid off due to the introduction of AI will have to be rehired — and at much more expensive conditions.
According to analysts, the reduction of staff gives only a temporary financial effect. In the long term, it weakens the personnel potential of companies and destroys the accumulated corporate experience. Since the growth of the global labor force has slowed down or stopped, competition for specialists will only increase, which will significantly increase the costs of hiring, training and adapting new employees, writes The Register.
“When business and IT leaders look back on the dawn of the AI era, they will realize that their biggest mistake was believing that the primary goal was to automate work, when the real opportunity was to empower workers,” says Tori Polman, vice president and analyst at Gartner.
Gartner analysts warn that by 2027, 75% of organizations that focus only on cost savings through AI productivity will lose out to competitors that reinvest the benefits in innovation, modernization, and staff training.
Managers are recommended to implement a "talent reallocation" strategy - using artificial intelligence to change job responsibilities and redirect employees from routine tasks to new, more promising directions.
Gartner emphasizes that the most successful companies will be those that use AI to enhance human potential — critical thinking, creativity, leadership, and decision-making — rather than to completely replace specialists.
