Across boardrooms from Seattle to San Francisco, corporate leaders are now openly acknowledging what workers have long feared: artificial intelligence is replacing human employees on a large scale.
In September 2025, a poll conducted by Resume.org showed that of 1,000 US company leaders surveyed, 37% believe AI will take over roles by late 2026, while nearly 30% admitted they have already made such shifts. Workers earning higher salaries might be let go more quickly, especially if their skillset lacks any link to AI. However, it's not just about pay; understanding how machines learn is equally important.
Here are 10 chief executives who have publicly confirmed that AI is transforming their workforces — and what it could mean for your career.
Andy Jassy – Amazon
In October 2025, Amazon announced its largest-ever round of layoffs, cutting 14,000 jobs. Beth Galetti, Senior Vice President of People Experience and Technology, described generative AI as 'the most transformative technology we've seen since the Internet.' Jassy had warned employees months earlier that AI would reduce the workforce, stating the tech giant would need 'fewer people doing some of the jobs.'
Marc Benioff – Salesforce
In September 2025, Salesforce's CEO revealed the company had halved its customer support workforce from 9,000 to roughly 5,000 employees. 'I've reduced it from 9,000 heads to about 5,000 because I need less heads,' Benioff said on The Logan Bartlett Show podcast. He added that AI agents now handle approximately 50% of customer interactions.
Satya Nadella – Microsoft
Throughout 2025, Microsoft cut around 15,000 roles, according to Fortune. These cuts followed Nadella's April 2025 statement that 20% to 30% of the company's code was now written by AI, as reported by TechCrunch. In a July internal memo, Nadella described shifting the company 'from a software factory to an intelligence engine.'
Arvind Krishna – IBM
IBM's CEO confirmed to The Wall Street Journal that AI chatbots had replaced several hundred HR workers. Krishna noted that overall employment had actually increased as automation freed up resources for other areas. Nonetheless, the company announced additional cuts in November 2025 as it shifted focus towards AI and quantum computing.
Sebastian Siemiatkowski – Klarna
The Swedish fintech chief has been particularly outspoken about AI's impact on staffing. Siemiatkowski disclosed that Klarna reduced its workforce by around 40%, from over 7,400 employees to approximately 3,400. 'I am of the opinion that AI can already do all of the jobs that we, as humans, do,' he said in an interview in February 2025.
Luis von Ahn – Duolingo
In April 2025, the language-learning platform's CEO announced that the company would 'gradually stop using contractors to do work that AI can handle.' Von Ahn shared an internal email on LinkedIn describing the shift as a 'fundamental cultural shift' towards becoming an 'AI-first' organisation — likening it to Duolingo's successful adoption of mobile technology in 2012.
Carl Eschenbach – Workday
HR software firm Workday announced in February 2025 that it planned to eliminate around 1,750 jobs, representing 8.5% of its workforce, according to Reuters. The company explicitly cited increased investment in AI as the driver, with leadership stating that efficiency gains from automation had reduced staffing needs.
George Kurtz – CrowdStrike
Cybersecurity firm CrowdStrike cut 500 staff, about 5% of its workforce, in May 2025, attributing the decision directly to AI capabilities. The CEO explained that AI enables the company to bring products to market faster and improve internal process management.
Micha Kaufman – Fiverr
Online marketplace Fiverr laid off around 250 employees in September 2025, roughly 30% of its staff. In a letter shared on LinkedIn, Kaufman explained that the company was adopting an 'AI-First mindset', believing it would make Fiverr 'leaner' and deliver 'substantially greater productivity, and far fewer management layers.'
Eric Vaughan – IgniteTech (The 80% Reduction)
Perhaps the most extreme example comes from enterprise software company IgniteTech. CEO Eric Vaughan replaced nearly 80% of his staff within a year after employees resisted adopting AI technology, according to figures reviewed by Fortune.
'In early 2023, we saw the light,' Vaughan told Fortune, describing AI as an 'existential threat' requiring swift action. The company invested 20% of payroll into AI training and introduced 'AI Mondays', when staff could only work on AI-related projects. When resistance persisted — including what Vaughan called 'flat-out sabotage' — he decided to rebuild the workforce entirely.
The results were striking. By the end of 2024, IgniteTech had launched two patent-pending AI solutions, acquired customer engagement firm Khoros, and reported EBITDA margins near 75%. 'Changing minds was harder than adding skills,' Vaughan explained. Asked if he would do it again, he did not hesitate: yes.
What This Means for Workers
The trend extends beyond tech firms. Consulting giant Accenture announced 11,000 redundancies in December 2025, with CEO Julie Sweet stating that employees 'who cannot be reskilled will be exited.' UPS also cut 48,000 roles under its 'Network of the Future' initiative, citing AI-enabled logistics improvements.
For workers, the implications are stark. Kara Dennison, head of careers advice at Resume.org, warned that AI adoption 'is going to reshape the job market more dramatically over the next 18 to 24 months than we've seen in decades.'
Those who develop AI fluency and human skills that machines cannot replicate are likely to thrive. Conversely, those resistant to change risk finding themselves on the wrong side of the next wave of restructuring.
