Microsoft on Monday announced a voluntary severance program for up to 60,000 employees, roughly a quarter of its global workforce, as part of a cost-cutting drive tied to restructuring and further investment in artificial intelligence. The company framed the reductions as a way to fund continued AI development while streamlining operations.
The Dutch government separately unveiled plans to reduce its civil service by 25,000 positions, citing expected efficiency gains from AI adoption. Officials projected annual savings of €3.5 billion from the cuts, which align with broader public-sector digitization efforts.
Polish recruitment firm Pracuj Group has also curbed hiring, though its CEO Przemysław Gacek attributed the freeze to disciplined growth rather than AI alone. In an interview with *Newsweek*, Gacek said the company’s 1,200-person team remains stable despite high single-digit revenue growth, with natural turnover requiring about 120 new hires annually. He noted AI has accelerated workflows in areas like customer service, where agents now assist human staff, but emphasized that high-risk processes—such as recruitment systems under the EU’s AI Act—still require human oversight.
Gacek added that while AI has automated repetitive tasks in some firms, demand for skilled workers, particularly programmers, has not declined. Data from Poland and the U.S. show rising need for such roles, he said, countering early predictions that AI would replace coders outright.
The International Monetary Fund has previously warned of AI’s disruptive potential for labor markets, comparing its impact to a “slow-moving tsunami.” Recent layoff announcements in banking, tech, and e-commerce sectors suggest those warnings are materializing, as companies reinvest savings from automation into further AI deployment.
