Companies that cut jobs too aggressively as AI advances could end up rehiring some of the workers they let go, according to Gartner.
The research and advisory firm predicts that by 2029, 30% of employees laid off because their roles were replaced by AI will need to be rehired, potentially at significantly higher costs. Gartner said workforce reductions can also drain institutional knowledge and weaken talent pipelines at a time when global labor-force growth is flat or declining.
AI gains could be reinvested
Gartner is urging CIOs and business leaders to focus on using AI to increase workers’ capabilities rather than treating automation primarily as a cost-cutting tool.
The firm identifies four priorities for organizations: strengthen collaboration between employees and AI, build a workforce capable of adapting to new roles and skills, preserve human judgment and institutional knowledge, and reinvest AI-generated productivity gains.
That final point could become particularly important. Gartner predicts that by 2027, 75% of organizations that prioritize turning AI productivity gains into cost savings will be overtaken by competitors that reinvest those gains into innovation, modernization and workforce upskilling.
The company’s outlook suggests that organizations will need to redesign roles, workflows and skills as AI becomes more embedded in everyday work, while retaining human oversight and expertise where they remain valuable.
