Additionally, New York Fed economists released research in early September which showed that AI use amongst firms “do not point to significant reductions in employment” across the services and manufacturing industry in the New York–Northern New Jersey region.
It found that 40% of service firms said they were using AI this year, up from 25% last year, while manufacturing firms saw a similar jump from 16% last year to 26% this year, but very few were using AI to layoff workers.
I’ve listened to enough earnings calls to know that, while it’s less and less every year, the is still a stigma around running layoffs. So its convenient to say “AI is here” to run cover on layoffs.
Quote Citation: CNBC, “Firms are blaming AI for job cuts. Critics say it’s a ‘good excuse’”, 2025-10-19, https://www.cnbc.com/2025/10/19/firms-are-blaming-ai-for-job-cuts-critics-say-its-a-good-excuse.html