Big Firms Ramp Up Hiring Amid AI Job Cut Fears

After months of caution over recruitment and growing concerns that artificial intelligence (AI) would significantly reduce the need for workers, several large US companies are signalling a shift in strategy by planning to expand hiring.

The change marks a departure from the hiring restraint seen across much of the AI boom, when many businesses delayed recruitment amid economic uncertainty and expectations that AI tools would take on a larger share of workplace tasks.

Instead, executives are now indicating that growth opportunities, evolving technology needs and AI's practical limitations are prompting fresh hiring across selected roles, as per a report by the Wall Street Journal (WSJ).

US Government contractor Booz Allen Hamilton is among the companies planning to increase recruitment after reducing its workforce over the past year.

"We actually need to accelerate hiring a bit. We’re a little bit behind right now," Booz Allen Hamilton Chief Operating Officer (COO) Kristine Martin Anderson told investors, as per WSJ.

The company had cut thousands of jobs after the Trump administration reduced federal contracts and required contractors to justify spending.

However, the firm now expects stronger demand for its services, particularly in national security, where employees with security clearances are required, the report said.

AI Creating Demand For New Skills

The reassessment extends beyond consulting and technology. According to the WSJ, Google parent Alphabet expects to continue recruiting in strategic areas such as AI and cloud computing, while enterprise software company ServiceNow plans to add more sales executives to support growth in cybersecurity and other high-priority businesses.

Rail operator CSX and tool manufacturer Snap-on have also indicated plans to modestly increase headcount to support business expansion, even as they continue investing in technology to improve efficiency, the report said.

Sarah Franklin, CEO of human resources platform Lattice, told the WSJ that many employers initially believed AI could replace entry-level workers but are now changing course.

"Just because you have coding agents doesn’t mean you’re not hiring engineers," she said, adding that companies with AI sales agents also need salespeople.

"What you have now is a realisation that you need the AI-native skills. You need this [entry-level] workforce, which is innovative, not calcified in thought. They’re also more affordable because they are newer to the workforce," she added.

The WSJ reported that staffing firm Robert Half is also seeing improving hiring demand, with Chief Executive M Keith Waddell describing AI's impact on employment as "more benign than some have feared."

Even so, experts cautioned that AI's long-term impact on employment remains uncertain.

"Do we need more people? Do we need less people?" MIT professor emeritus Paul Osterman told the WSJ. "We have no idea. No one has any idea."