One in six UK employers expect artificial intelligence to reduce their workforce within the next 12 months, with junior and administrative roles bearing the brunt of automation, according to a major survey released this week that underscores growing concerns about AI’s impact on employment.
The Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development surveyed more than 2,000 employers and found that 17% anticipate headcount reductions due to AI adoption. Among those expecting cuts, 62% predict clerical, junior managerial, professional, and administrative roles will be most at risk. The findings arrive as major corporations including Amazon and PwC have already announced substantial job reductions.
Private Sector Faces Steepest Cuts
Large private sector companies are expected to experience the most severe impact, with 26% anticipating workforce reductions compared to 17% across the private sector overall and 20% in the public sector. Among employers expecting AI-related job losses, a quarter believe more than 10% of their workforce could be eliminated within a year.
Amazon announced in late October it would cut approximately 14,000 corporate positions, with Beth Galetti, the company’s senior vice president of people experience and technology, describing AI as “the most transformative technology we’ve seen since the Internet”. PwC reduced its global workforce by 5,600 employees in its most recent fiscal year while investing nearly $1.5 billion to expand AI capabilities.
Economic Pressures Compound Hiring Slowdown
The survey findings come amid broader challenges facing UK employers, including increased National Insurance contributions that rose from 13.8% to 15% in April 2025. Research by ManpowerGroup, tracking hiring plans across 42 countries, identified the UK as facing one of the sharpest recruitment slowdowns globally, citing “cost pressures, AI disruption, and policy uncertainty”.
James Cockett, senior labour market economist at the CIPD, warned that while AI offers “great potential for improving productivity and performance,” it “risks leaving many people behind”. He called for a national drive to retrain workers at all career stages, particularly those in early-career or lower-level professional positions across finance, insurance, IT, and administrative services.
A government spokesperson said ministers were focused on helping workers “take advantage of the huge opportunities” AI presents, noting partnerships with tech firms to train a fifth of the workforce and £187 million invested in digital and AI learning programs. The government’s AI growth zones are intended to create “thousands of new jobs and skills opportunities” across the UK.
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