Leaving a company after a layoff may no longer be permanent. As companies rethink AI-driven workforce cuts, some are turning back to former employees to fill roles they once eliminated, according to Business Insider.
Amazon is among the companies looking to reconnect with former workers. Business Insider reported that the company is recruiting some employees it previously laid off. Amazon said rehiring former employees is a long-standing part of its recruiting strategy.
The trend extends beyond Amazon. Revelio Labs found that former employees accounted for 3.4% of new hires in the U.S. by the end of 2025, up from 3.1% two years earlier.
That comes as AI is increasingly cited in layoff announcements. Through July, employers attributed nearly one in four announced job cuts to AI, making it the leading cited reason for layoffs for the fifth consecutive month.
Some companies are reversing AI-driven cuts
Syndio CEO Maria Colacurcio learned firsthand how quickly an AI-focused restructuring can go too far. The company laid off five employees, including labor economists and other domain experts, as part of a restructuring intended to account for new AI capabilities. Within weeks, Colacurcio concluded that the company had moved too quickly and later rehired one of those employees for a newly created position.
The company had also expected existing employees to move into some of the new roles, but few were willing to do so. The experience led Colacurcio to reconsider whether workers could adapt to AI-enabled jobs with the right training.
The rehired employee returned as a global account partner. He said AI has made some parts of his work easier, while human judgment and customer relationships remain important.
Former employees bring something new hires don’t
Companies have long brought back former employees, particularly those who left on good terms. Deel said its boomerang hires more than doubled between 2024 and 2026.
Executives cited familiarity with company operations, existing relationships and knowledge gained elsewhere as reasons to bring people back. Former employees can return with an understanding of the organization while also bringing skills and experience developed since they left.
The pattern can also produce repeated cycles of leaving and returning. Investor recruiter Matt Giannini, for example, is returning to Citadel for a third stint.
Still, a former employee being invited back does not mean they will accept. A former Google employee declined an offer after his layoff to pursue his own venture. Other workers have experienced multiple layoffs and rehiring cycles across major technology companies.
For employers, the growing use of AI is creating a less straightforward question than whether a job can be automated: what happens when the people who were cut turn out to still be needed?
