AI was behind over 50,000 layoffs in 2025 — here are the top firms to cite it for job cuts

illuminem summarises for you the essential news of the day. Read the full piece on CNBC or enjoy below:

🗞️ Driving the news: Artificial intelligence was cited as a factor in nearly 55,000 U.S. layoffs in 2025, according to Challenger, Gray & Christmas
• Major tech firms including Amazon, Microsoft, and Salesforce cut thousands of jobs as they accelerated AI adoption

🔭 The context: Total U.S. job cuts reached 1.17 million in 2025, the highest level since 2020
• Companies say AI boosts productivity and flattens hiring needs, but researchers warn it may also mask post-pandemic overhiring and cost-cutting pressures from inflation and tariffs
• An MIT study suggests AI could already perform 11.7% of U.S. jobs, reshaping finance, healthcare and professional services

🌍 Why it matters for the planet: AI-driven restructuring has indirect environmental impacts
• Automation can reduce commuting emissions and office energy use, but rapid AI expansion increases demand for energy-intensive data centres, raising carbon and water footprints
• Whether AI becomes a climate solution or liability depends on clean power, efficiency gains, and responsible scaling

⏭️ What’s next: Firms like IBM, Workday, and CrowdStrike say AI will replace some roles while creating others
• Policymakers and businesses now face pressure to manage workforce transitions alongside AI’s growing environmental costs

💬 One quote: “AI flattens our hiring curve,” said CrowdStrike CEO George Kurtz — a sentiment echoed across Big Tech

See on illuminem's Data Hub™ the sustainability performance — carbon credit purchases, total emissions, and climate targets of thousands of companies

Click for more news covering the latest on corporate governance