An In-Depth Analysis

Since the release of ChatGPT and given the increasing adoption of Generative AI, many questions arose related to the impact on the job market related to AI.
Multiple companies announced job cuts as their teams adopt AI and hence "requiring less workforce". No industry seems spared. No function seems spared.
Those announcements covered big companies like British Telecom, or smaller, like this French PR company replacing half of its staff by AI.
This obviously generated concerns related to job safety, as companies of different sizes, in different sectors, and within different functions seem to be massively replacing humans by AI.
These concerns reached even the Biden administration, and in the Executive Order on Safe, Secure, and Trustworthy Artificial Intelligence signed by President Biden, it stated, quote, "Produce a report on AI’s potential labor-market impacts, and study and identify options for strengthening federal support for workers facing labor disruptions, including from AI".
So, as a Data guy, I wanted to assess, with numbers and data, the real impact of AI on layoffs and job losses.
Methodology
Data Sources
As Data Sources, I used layoffs.fyi, which tracks layoffs for Startups and Tech companies. Layoffs.fyi has been tracking the layoffs since the Covid era. Then for each layoff, I used the reference link in Layoffs.fyi as well as other sources on the internet (press releases, articles on Tech Crunch, Bloomberg ..).

Selection Criteria
I analyzed all the layoffs for the month of October 2023.
There were 76 layoffs referenced for the month.
Using a duplicate analysis, one line was duplicate (for Convoy, Logistics). So we are left with 75 layoffs.
From those layoffs I removed all the lines related to "complete shutdowns", which accounted for 10 lines. This can be discussed, but all the 10 shutdowns were not AI related, but rather companies going bankrupt due to various reasons (market correction, non-viable business model …).
So we have 65 layoffs to analyze. This will be our considered data set.
Analysis
(For limitations, See Limitations section)
For the month of October 2023:
- The Total number of Layoffs : 6,841 employees were laid off from the companies listed (not considering the missing data points – see limitations).
- Average Layoffs per Company: On average, there were approximately 163 layoffs per company.
- Layoffs per country : The United States had the highest number of layoffs with a total of 5,395 employees, followed by India with 510 layoffs, then Canada saw 271 layoffs, France reported 230 layoffs and Germany had 215 layoffs. Other countries had fewer layoffs
Let’s have a look at layoffs per Industry:

Finance, Retail, Consumer, Healthcare and Crypto faced the highest number of layoffs (not in terms of number of employees, but in number of layoffs).
The AI Impact
So, the next step was to check how many layoffs were related to AI. After analyzing the total data set of the 65 layoffs, only 2 layoffs were reported to be induced by AI adoption.
The first case : LinkedIn
LinkedIn decided to cut 668 jobs. This cut comes after another one that was announced earlier this year, to cut 716 jobs. LinkedIn is looking at AI to automate routine tasks, integrate new AI-powered tools, but also to offer new features using Generative AI, like LinkedIn Collaborative Articles, which are AI generated articles that seem to drive a lot of traffic according to LinkedIn. The job cuts impacted particularly the R&D department.
The second case : Stack Overflow
Stack Overflow decided to replace a substantial part (28%) of its workforce with Generative AI, indicating a strategic shift towards leveraging artificial intelligence for efficiency, seeking profitability, and possibly to improve the quality of services provided on their platform. It is also worth mentioning that Stack Overflow initially adopted a ban on AI technologies, just to come back to a more balanced position, and understand the real impact AI is having. More simply, Stack Overflow business, as Knowledge Management tool is directly impacted (if not, disrupted) by the competition implied by AI adoption.
Analysis takeaways
In the cases of LinkedIn and Stack Overflow, AI and automation significantly impacted workforce structures. These moves by LinkedIn and Stack Overflow seem to be in line with the broader trend in the tech industry where AI and automation are replacing traditional Jobs, especially amidst a boom in AI technology. Yet this trend is not that massive. In this study it only impacted 2 over 65 layoffs (3% in number of layoffs; ~7% in terms of number of employees impacted).
The main reasons for the rest of the layoffs (63 over 65) encompass various factors including efforts to achieve profitability, restructuring, financial struggles, and the impact of acquisitions. Economic downturns, shifts in business strategies, and changes in market dynamics also contributed to these layoffs. Also, some are related to industry-specific situation, like the self-correction of the Crypto market after an overhype situation and "back to earth" journey.
Limitations
- Missing Data points: 23 companies did not report the number of employees laid off. 29 companies did not report the percentage of their workforce that was laid off.
- Data Source: Layoffs.fyi is certainly an excellent source and tracker for layoffs but it might not list all the layoffs in the market.
- Transparency of press releases and articles: some layoffs might be related to AI, or partially to AI, but companies might chose to not communicate transparently on it.
- Study time coverage: Only 1 month (October 2023), which might not be a representative month in terms of sampling soundness (feel free to comment if you think the study should cover longer period).
All those limitations taken into consideration, I still believe they wouldn’t impact drastically the results and the analysis main takeaways.
Closing words
AI impact on jobs cuts, at least based on this analysis is (still) very limited. It impacted 2 layoffs over 65, LinkedIn and Stack Overflow. This does not show a massive movement on the market.
Yet, AI is here, and AI is here to stay, and it is key to prepare for the upcoming changes.
One critical concern surrounding AI is ensuring that everyone, regardless of their background or resources, has equal access to the ongoing technological advancements and can fully benefit from them. This is instrumental in ensuring everyone "lands" smoothly and can adapt to those changes.
Looking ahead, the trend of AI-driven automation might escalate, potentially leading to more layoffs. However, it also opens doors for upskilling and new roles centered around AI and Data Science. The job offerings related to AI skills have grown by 75% over the past four years. Also, companies might need to balance between leveraging AI for efficiency and retaining a motivated workforce by retraining employees for evolving roles.
Annexure – Data Set
Here is the data set used for this analysis.
# |Company |Laid Off |Date |% |AI Impact?|Industry |Country
---|-------------------|---------|-----------|-----|----------|-----------|--------------
1 |StepStone |215 |30/10/2023 |5% |No |Recruiting |Germany
2 |Hubilo |50 |30/10/2023 |5% |No |Other |United States
3 |Karat Financial | |27/10/2023 | |No |Finance |United States
4 |Hippo Insurance |120 |26/10/2023 |20% |No |Finance |United States
5 |Graphy |50 |26/10/2023 |20% |No |Education |India
6 |Salsify |110 |25/10/2023 | |No |Retail |United States
7 |F-Secure |70 |25/10/2023 | |No |Security |Finland
8 |Virgio |20 |25/10/2023 |33% |No |Retail |India
9 |Exabeam | |25/10/2023 |20% |No |Security |United States
10 |SiFive |130 |24/10/2023 |20% |No |Hardware |United States
11 |Shipt | |24/10/2023 |3% |No |Retail |United States
12 |Parity Tech |100 |23/10/2023 |30% |No |Crypto |United Kingdom
13 |Roblox China |15 |23/10/2023 | |No |Consumer |China
14 |Nomad Health |119 |20/10/2023 |17% |No |Healthcare |United States
15 |Tropic |26 |20/10/2023 | |No |Finance |United States
16 |Nomad Health | |20/10/2023 |25% |No |Healthcare |United States
17 |Bullhorn |140 |19/10/2023 |9% |No |Sales |United States
18 |LegalZoom |100 |19/10/2023 | |No |Legal |United States
19 |StellarAlgo |21 |19/10/2023 |28% |No |Data |Canada
20 |ManoMano |230 |18/10/2023 |25% |No |Retail |France
21 |Google | |18/10/2023 | |No |Consumer |United States
22 |WeTransfer |35 |18/10/2023 |10% |No |Other |Netherlands
23 |Plume |24 |18/10/2023 | |No |Healthcare |United States
24 |Expedia |100 |17/10/2023 | |No |Travel |United States
25 |Waymo | |17/10/2023 | |No |Transport |United States
26 |LinkedIn |660 |16/10/2023 |3% |Yes |Recruiting |United States
27 |CityMall |90 |16/10/2023 | |No |Retail |India
28 |C2FO |80 |16/10/2023 |3% |No |Finance |United States
29 |Kayak/OpenTable |80 |16/10/2023 | |No |Travel |United States
30 |Bandcamp |58 |16/10/2023 |50% |No |Other |United States
31 |Stack Overflow | |16/10/2023 |28% |Yes |Recruiting |United States
32 |PokerStars | |15/10/2023 | |No |Consumer |United Kingdom
33 |Adda247 |300 |14/10/2023 | |No |Education |India
34 |Flexport | |13/10/2023 |20% |No |Logistics |United States
35 |Uno Health | |13/10/2023 | |No |Healthcare |United States
36 |Qualcomm |1258 |12/10/2023 |12% |No |Hardware |United States
37 |Lending Club |172 |12/10/2023 |14% |No |Finance |United States
38 |MariaDB |84 |12/10/2023 | |No |Data |United States
39 |Deepgram |20 |11/10/2023 |20% |No |AI |United States
40 |Acronis | |11/10/2023 | |No |Security |Switzerland
41 |Stitch Fix |558 |09/10/2023 | |No |Retail |United States
42 |Carbon Health |114 |09/10/2023 |5% |No |Healthcare |United States
43 |Blue Origin |40 |09/10/2023 | |No |Aerospace |United States
44 |Product Hunt | |09/10/2023 |60% |No |Consumer |United States
45 |InvestCloud |80 |06/10/2023 |5% |No |Finance |United States
46 |Brave | |06/10/2023 |9% |No |Consumer |United States
47 |Yuga Labs | |06/10/2023 | |No |Crypto |United States
48 |Enoivix |185 |05/10/2023 | |No |Energy |United States
49 |Bizongo |50 |05/10/2023 | |No |Retail |India
50 |SchoolMint |29 |05/10/2023 |14% |No |Education |United States
51 |SeekOut |16 |05/10/2023 |7% |No |Recruiting |United States
52 |Arrival | |05/10/2023 |25% |No |Transport |United Kingdom
53 |Ledger | |05/10/2023 |12% |No |Crypto |France
54 |Qualtrics |780 |04/10/2023 |14% |No |Other |United States
55 |Hopper |250 |04/10/2023 |30% |No |Travel |Canada
56 |Bird | |04/10/2023 | |No |Transport |United States
57 |Block | |04/10/2023 | |No |Finance |United States
58 |Meta | |04/10/2023 | |No |Consumer |United States
59 |Dare | |03/10/2023 | |No |Energy |United Kingdom
60 |Sendoso | |03/10/2023 | |No |Marketing |United States
61 |Twitch | |03/10/2023 | |No |Consumer |United States
62 |Chainalysis |150 |02/10/2023 |15% |No |Crypto |United States
63 |Synapse |86 |02/10/2023 |40% |No |Finance |United States
64 |Chia Network |26 |02/10/2023 |37% |No |Crypto |United States
65 |Sono Motors | |02/10/2023 | |No |Transport |Germany
Feel free to share your thoughts! Is your job impacted by AI ?
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