More than half of Americans – 53% – fear that artificial intelligence could cause them or someone in their household to lose their job, a new Reuters/Ipsos poll shows.
The findings come as companies are increasing AI investments while cutting their workforce, raising concerns across the demographic. Concern about job loss remained consistent across age, gender, and education level, although Democrats were more likely to express concern than Republicans.
The six-day survey of 4,531 US adults across the country found a wave of AI-related job cuts by major companies. Software firm Intuit told employees last month that it would lay off 17% of its global workforce to streamline operations and focus on its key bets, including its AI efforts.
An April Challenger, Gray & Christmas report found that US employers announced 60,620 layoffs in March and that AI adoption was the primary reason behind a quarter of the cuts.
Last year, Klarna CEO Sebastian Siemiatkowski told CNBC that the Swedish fintech company had reduced its workforce by 40%, while Ford CEO Jim Farley said AI would “replace half of all white-collar workers in the US”.
Jennifer Shalhoub, a 62-year-old freelance writer in Little Ferry, New Jersey, told Reuters she recently lost her job writing letters to government officials to advocate for specific policies, a loss she suspects the rise of AI had a role in.
“AI is dominating because people care less and less about the quality of work being produced,” Shalhoub said.
AI is facing a cultural backlash
Artificial intelligence technology has faced opposition and its potential use as a tool of political propaganda in entertainment and even war has drawn warnings from elected leaders and even Pope Leo XIV.
On May 25, the Catholic Church published Leo’s encyclical where he said that what is needed for AI is “more active political participation that is able to slow things down when everything is speeding up.”
Students at the University of Arizona criticized Eric Schmidt last month when the former Google CEO discussed the impact of AI at a graduation ceremony.
The response comes as young job seekers are having difficulty obtaining entry-level jobs.
The Cengage Group survey found that 76% of employers reported hiring for fewer or the same number of entry-level roles in 2025, up from 69% in 2024. A study by the Federal Reserve Bank of New York found that 42% of recent college graduates are “underemployed,” the highest level since 2020, meaning they are working jobs that typically do not require a college degree.
While AI isn’t the only factor in recruiting strictness, Peter Watkins, senior director of university programs at the CFA Institute, previously told USA TODAY that technology is playing a role.
“If companies are looking to cut resources, AI starts to become a solution for that, whereas in another economic environment, they would probably be using it more in terms of innovation and growth,” Watkins said.
Contribution: Reuters
