6 IN 10 COMPANIES PLAN LAYOFFS IN 2026 — AI IS THE REASON MOST AREN’T SAYING OUT LOUD

A Resume.org survey of 1,000 U.S. business leaders found that 6 in 10 companies plan to lay off employees in 2026. Only 37% explicitly said they plan to replace jobs with AI — but that number almost certainly understates the real figure. Investors have been predicting this shift since late 2025: the agentic AI wave, now visible in tools like Microsoft Agent 365 and Claude Code’s multi-agent coordination, makes automating entire knowledge work workflows technically feasible for the first time. The question isn’t whether AI is behind the layoffs. It’s how honest companies are choosing to be about it.

Keywords: AI job losses 2026, AI layoffs 2026, AI automation workforce, AI replacing jobs, AI labor market