Workers whose jobs have been negatively impacted by AI may soon look to a new solution, courtesy of some of the biggest names in the tech world.

The tech industry continues to be one of the hardest hit by the recent downturn in the world’s economies.

According to Layoffs.fyi, more than 200 tech companies have already laid off more than 50,800 employees as of March 2024. In 2023, over 260,000 tech workers lost their jobs.

Some executives point to a pandemic hiring binge, high inflation and weak consumer demand as the main causes of the mass layoffs. However, others pin the blame on companies adopting AI technology to automate much of their business processes.

So what will happen to tech workers who lose their jobs to AI?

A group of tech companies, led by Accenture, Cisco, Eightfold, Google, IBM, Indeed, Intel, Microsoft, and SAP, is looking to address the issue by empowering workers through upskilling and reskilling.

Known as the AI-Enabled Information and Communication Technology (ICT) Workforce Consortium, the companies want to help people impacted by AI to learn and develop new skills and connect them with companies that require their particular skill sets.

"The mission of our newly unveiled AI-Enabled Workforce Consortium is to provide organisations with knowledge about the impact of AI on the workforce and equip workers with relevant skills," Francine Katsoudas, Executive Vice President and Chief People, Policy & Purpose Officer at Cisco, said.

Keeping pace with AI

As more businesses incorporate AI into their processes, the tech industry will likely see more mass layoffs in the coming months. Companies like IBM and UPS have already announced that they are either laying off workers or freezing hiring for their teams because of AI.

In the US, companies have already cut as many as 4,600 jobs as they look to hire AI-ready workers or replace positions with AI entirely, according to a Challenger, Gray & Christmas report. Many of the workers who got cut lost their jobs because of AI innovations developed by members of the AI-Enabled Workforce Consortium themselves.

To address the issue, Cisco and other members of the Workforce Consortium want to help workers learn useful skills that can jumpstart their new careers. Their goal is to "positively impact over 95 million individuals around the world over the next 10 years."

The leading members of the Workforce Consortium have revealed their plans on how to achieve their goal:

● Cisco - Train 25 million people with cybersecurity and digital skills by 2032
● Google - Provide EUR 25 million in funding to support AI training and skills for workers across Europe
● IBM - Train 30 million people in digital skills, including two million in AI by 2030
● Intel - Train more than 30 million workers with AI skills for current and future jobs by 2030
● Microsoft - Train and certify 10 million workers with in-demand digital skills for jobs in 2025
● SAP - Upskill two million workers across the world by 2025

Whether the Workforce Consortium delivers on these plans or not remains to be seen. However, its members have expressed their willingness to do their part.

The Consortium’s first objective is to find out how AI has affected 56 unidentified job roles that make up 80% of the top 45 job titles since last year. They will then have to come up with a way for workers to have the necessary skills so that they can be employed by other ICT companies.

No end in sight for layoffs?

2024 is proving to be a better year for businesses in general, with workforces largely returning to their pre-pandemic levels, inflation rates stabilising, and consumer confidence rebounding.

Despite this, tech companies continue to announce mass layoffs and hiring freezes, leading many experts to question whether the moves are being made out of necessity or survival.

For Jeff Shulman, a professor at the University of Washington's Foster School of Business, there could be more to the issue than what the public sees.

"There is a herding effect in tech," Shulman said. "The layoffs seem to be helping their stock prices, so these companies see no reason to stop."

The situation for small tech companies and large firms could not be more different. Many startups have been losing money and struggling with their fundraising, forcing them to lay off their employees. However, most tech conglomerates chose to cut workers just to satisfy their investors.

"They're getting away with it because everybody is doing it. And they're getting away with it because now it's the new normal," Shulman said.

"Workers are more comfortable with it, stock investors are appreciating it, and so I think we'll see it continue for some time."