
AI has quickly become a powerful — and complicated — force in today’s shaky job market, with both clear benefits and real downsides.
Let’s start with the bad. People have lost their jobs because of AI. Labor market research firm Challenger, Gray & Christmas found that 17,375 job cuts were directly tied to AI between January and September 2025, with another 20,000 layoffs linked to broader technological changes that likely included AI, according to EconoFact. Watching longtime careers disappear has been tough — and unsettling — to follow.