Will AI cut jobs in our company?

It is the question teams ask themselves, often without asking it out loud. Every announcement about AI is read through it, and the leadership’s silence is taken as an answer.

AI shifts tasks: some disappear, others change, others still appear, such as checking, supervising or handling the cases the tool cannot deal with. What this does to jobs depends on the company’s decisions: reassigning the time freed up, developing roles, or reducing headcount. Those decisions are yours, and teams need to know them.

• Silence feeds the worst assumptions.Without an explanation, everyone imagines the worst-case scenario for themselves.
• Tasks change faster than jobs.Most jobs evolve before they disappear, which leaves time to prepare.
• New tasks are rarely anticipated.Checking, correcting and explaining the tool’s decisions takes time and skills.

1. 01Tell teams clearly what you intend to do with the time freed up, even if not everything is decided.
2. 02For each use, list the tasks that disappear, those that change and those that appear.
3. 03Involve employee representatives early, before projects are finalised.

We help leadership teams say early and clearly what AI changes for their teams.

• How do we stop our teams rejecting AI?→
• How do we keep human expertise when AI does the work?→
• Can you transform a line of work, not just equip it?→
• Is AI mainly about cutting costs?→