Artificial intelligence is changing the way companies work, and its impact is increasingly being felt in the job market.
Some of the largest global companies, such as Oracle, Amazon, and Visa, have already announced that they are going to reduce their workforce in 2026. Companies have made several such decisions, and AI adoption, automation, restructuring and cost cuts have been the key reasons for it, automation, restructuring, and cost cuts are part of the conversation.
More than 40 major companies have announced layoffs in industries across industries since 2016, according to a recent study. Technology, banking, retail, manufacturing and other industries are among them.
But no one is saying AI is replacing all employees. In a lot of cases, companies are changing the skills that they need in a way that will lower some jobs but increase investment in AI, cloud computing, automation and other tech.
Experts also warn against attributing every layoff entirely to AI. Companies can also use AI as an argument for restructuring, but then respond to weaker demand, high costs, or business strategy changes.
Companies are cutting jobs because of AI?
AI can automate many repetitive and time-consuming tasks which were previously handled by employees.
Companies can use AI tools to analyse data, generate documents, answer customer questions, write and test software, process information, and perform other routine tasks.
With fewer people working in the company, it could make some work possible.
For businesses, that can mean lower costs and faster operations. But for employees, it can mean that some traditional roles are smaller or disappear.
Oracle has been among the companies making significant workforce changes this year. The company has been blamed for layoffs among the workforce cuts for a general restructuring and a move to AI and other tech investments. A recent report estimated that Oracle’s workforce reduction could affect about 21,000 employees worldwide.
Amazon has also cut its corporate workforce. In January, it announced plans to eliminate 16,000 corporate positions worldwide to reduce bureaucracy and make the organisation more efficient.
Visa has also been included among major companies cutting jobs in 2026.
The reasons for these companies are not the same. AI is one, but businesses are also trying to simplify operations, cut expenses and reorganise teams.
That distinction matters because it would be inaccurate to say that every employee losing a job has been directly replaced by an AI system.
In many cases, companies are restructuring before deciding what their future workforce should look like.
At the same time AI is influencing what companies expect from new employees.
Rather than hiring a lot of people to do the same thing again and again, companies might prefer smaller teams that are more equipped with AI tools.
Such a way of working could improve productivity for each and keep certain entry-level positions.
The World Economic Forum has found that the vast majority of companies expect AI to reduce their workforce in the next 10 years, while jobs related to areas such as AI, big data and fintech are expected to grow.
Hence, the job market is not shrinking. It is changing.
What does the AI job shift mean for India?
India could feel the negative and positive impact of this change.
The country has a large technology and services workforce, and many Indian companies provide IT, customer support, business processing, and other services to global clients.
Some of these roles involve repetitive tasks that AI can increasingly perform.
That is, in turn, going to put pressure on entry-level jobs and some outsourcing roles.
Indian professionals working with global companies are also experiencing uncertainty. Last year’s layoffs at Amazon and Meta have had an impact on Indian technology workers in the United States as well, with some also facing concerns related to employment-based visas.
But India is also positioned to benefit from the growing demand for AI related skills.
Companies will need people who can build, manage, test and implement AI systems. They will also need professionals who understand how to use AI in areas such as marketing, finance, operations, data analysis and customer service.
And employees who learn to work with AI could have an advantage over workers who are more used to working in old ways of doing things.
The lesson is not that AI will take every job from job seekers.
AI is also able to change how employers want you to do your job.
For example, a marketing employee who has spent hours preparing reports might now use AI and analytics tools to execute the initial analysis. That person may then be expected to spend more time interpreting the results and making business decisions.
A customer service person might also face fewer basic questions because AI can answer common questions. Human employees may deal with complicated cases that require the judgement and communication needed.
The same pattern can appear in finance, HR, content, operations and technology.
That’s why learning how to use one AI tool may not be enough.
Workers need to possess domain knowledge, digital skills, analytical thinking and the ability to use AI effectively.
The current wave of layoffs also illustrates why companies are increasingly reluctant to hire large numbers of people for jobs which could eventually be automated.
At the same time, businesses cannot replace human workers with AI entirely. Many jobs still require judgement, accountability, creativity, communication, leadership and direct interaction with customers or colleagues.
In addition, AI adoption can increase productivity rather than simply eliminate workers. A 2026 study of workplace activity found that frequent use of generative AI was associated with higher productivity and communication activity among users.
The future job market will likely be one of automation and human work.
Some roles will shrink. Some will change. New roles will emerge.
For India, the biggest challenge will be to ensure that workers are able to move from roles that are declining to jobs that are growing.
This will require continuous learning and better training in AI, data, digital tools and industry-specific skills.
For employees, the safest approach is not to compete with AI at tasks machines do better. Rather, workers need to learn how to apply AI to accelerate the work and improve the skills they have to possess to make decisions that are still based on human judgment.
The layoffs at Oracle, Amazon, Visa and other global companies are thus part of a much larger change in the employment market.
AI is not the only reason companies are cutting jobs, but it is clearly influencing how businesses think about productivity, workforce size and future hiring.
The companies that adapt well will probably hire fewer people for some traditional jobs while creating demand for workers with stronger technical, analytical and problem-solving skills.
On the one hand, the message is crystal clear: we want workers and job-seekers not to avoid AI, but to become those who can work with it.
