NEW YORK – Companies worldwide are increasingly pointing to artificial intelligence as they eliminate jobs, intensifying fears that machines could put many more workers out of work.
Microsoft, Barclays Bank and supermarket operator Kroger are among the latest companies to announce AI-related workforce reductions this year. The cuts include positions considered redundant as well as jobs eliminated to redirect funding toward developing and deploying the technology.
Yet the AI-era layoffs affecting tens of thousands of workers sometimes have an unexpected sequel. After finding that AI models, applications or agents fall short of expectations, some companies have brought back laid-off employees to perform the very work they had eliminated.
The frequency of these reversals is difficult to measure, but they are occurring often enough to earn a name of their own: the “AI boomerang.”
“Two years ago, we said, ‘Would this happen?’ and now we’re saying, ‘Yes, it is happening in real time,’” said Lucy Beaumont, a global senior vice president at SHL, a U.K.-based company that develops employment tests and workplace tools.
Hiring managers in finance, marketing, legal services and health care told staffing and placement firm Robert Half that they had recruited people for work similar to roles eliminated during AI-related cutbacks. Those jobs often still required human oversight, relationship management and quality-control skills.
“When you need critical thinking, collaboration, creativity, institutional knowledge, those are things that AI just can’t replicate,” said Bill Driscoll, a senior district president at Robert Half. “And I think that’s where companies are starting to realize, ‘Wow, we really do need people to do these jobs.’”
Klarna, the Swedish buy now, pay later provider, resumed recruiting human customer service representatives last year. CEO Sebastian Siemiatkowski told Bloomberg News that the company had relied too heavily on an AI chatbot in an effort to reduce costs.
Ford said in June that it had hired or promoted 350 veteran engineers after AI tools introduced for quality-control work failed to perform at the expected level.
“AI utilization has been an important part of our quality gains and that — along with deep technical expertise of our teams — is a powerful combination,” a Ford spokesperson told The Associated Press.
Companies do not always publicize these reversals, particularly when they involve shifting responsibilities or resources back from AI systems to employees, Beaumont said.
“Maybe their shareholders love that they did this right-sizing motion …. and then they have to turn around and quietly, with their tail between their legs, admit that they weren’t ready for that or they shouldn’t have done that,” she said.
Management experts offered insights into how employers are navigating the swings between using AI to boost productivity, reducing staff to cut costs and, in some cases, reversing course.
Rehiring suggests the invisible work of humans is not easily replaced
When companies turn over tasks once handled by employees to AI, they often overlook the less visible work people perform beyond their official duties, said Betsy Summers, a principal analyst on the Future of Work team at Forrester, a market research and advisory firm.
That work can involve reading emotions and moods, convening impromptu meetings and making an extra effort when employees feel inspired or motivated, Summers said.
“We don’t know all the work that’s required to do things well within the organization,” she said. “The citizenship behaviors of team cohesion and team building and making sure that you have trust within your team, none of that is accounted for. So when you rip out humans who are doing that work and then expect agents to be able to then deliver exactly what humans have delivered, they are frequently mistaken.”
Experts said another challenge is that company processes for activities such as data processing and bookkeeping are not always documented clearly enough to be handed over to AI-powered tools.
“Organizations are not spending enough time doing the up-front work to really truly understand workflows and where humans add value in the process,” said Brooks Holtom, a professor of management at Georgetown University’s McDonough School of Business.
In customer service, AI agents and chatbots often must pass questions or complaints to employees who can recognize emotions, assess the seriousness or complexity of an issue and respond creatively while staying within established guidelines, Holtom said.
“It’s that combination of creativity but staying in the guardrail that’s really hard for a machine to figure out,” he said.
Figure out what gives you a competitive edge as a human
People considering returning to a company that outsourced work to AI can lean into skills that are hard to automate, such as emotional intelligence, ethical decision-making and judgment based on experience, Holtom said.
“Really try to be able to articulate, what’s your value proposition as a human?” Holtom said. “Don’t be afraid to lean into the technology as well, and understand how to differentiate yourself from what machines do well. Embrace that, understand that, and you can become uniquely qualified to help with implementation.”
Empathy is another human quality that technology has not fully mastered, Beaumont said.
“Think about an angry customer. They want to be listened to, they want to be heard, they really want a human on the other end of the line,” Beaumont said. “Can an AI replace that right now in a way that feels meaningful to individuals? Perhaps not.”
Know your leverage and use caution if you’re asked back
Many people don’t want to return to a company that laid them off, according to Beaumont. The ones willing to consider going back during a reorganization around artificial intelligence are asking for more money and to know how AI might impact opportunities for promotion, she said.
“To come back to a business where you’ve been let go, replaced by AI, to be asked back to that business, your trust is gone, your psychological safety there, your relationship with the employer, and that’s very, very difficult to build back,” Beaumont said.
Workers with rehiring offers can ask to be upskilled and for a clear idea of what career growth at the company might look like for them specifically, she said.
Before accepting an offer to return, seek a commitment such as a one-year renewable contract that includes a buyout clause if the job is terminated in less than a year, Holtom suggested.
Communicate ways you would contribute value, such as becoming the final line of defense for quality control. For example, a retail company worker could audit a chatbot’s conversations with customers and recommend improvements, Holtom said.
“In some ways, you could almost envision a higher role for yourself and sort of create a new job description that leverages the technology but also your expertise. So maybe you can get a raise in that process,” he said.
Don’t discount the distinctly human values of motivation and curiosity, which make people efficient and effective, Summers said.
“Within our societies, work serves a broader purpose than just creating value for shareholders or customers or constituents,” she added. “Work serves a human purpose as well. It’s the manifestation of our search for meaning and purpose. We want to contribute to our communities as human beings.”
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