United States of America

Meta to Reassign 7,000 Staff Ahead of Job Cuts

Is AI set to create millions of new jobs or destroy the ones we already have?

Published MAY 19

Meta to Reassign 7,000 Staff Ahead of Job Cuts

story

Above: The Meta headquarters in Menlo Park, California, U.S., on April 26. Image credit: Benjamin Fanjoy/Bloomberg/Getty Images

The Spin

Narrative A

AI isn't killing jobs; rather, it will create them at a scale never seen before. The World Economic Forum projects a net gain of 78 million jobs, and when you factor in gross creation, that number tops 100 million. Just like the cotton gin and the computer before it, AI will spawn entirely new industries, and the workers who get ready now will be the ones who come out ahead.

Forbes BCG

Narrative B

Rosy job-creation forecasts ignore a brutal reality: AI is improving so fast that no reassurances about plentiful work can guarantee those jobs will pay well or last. White-collar workers are already seeing fewer openings, and the political fallout from even modest displacement could dwarf previous shocks. Governments need to build safety nets now, before it's too late.

Economist The Sydney Morning Herald