Business leaders at Davos warned AI could trigger mass job losses

The conversation at this year’s World Economic Forum gathering in Davos, Switzerland, centered squarely on artificial intelligence and what it means for workers worldwide.

Business leaders from banking to technology to healthcare couldn’t stop talking about AI during the weeklong event in the Swiss Alps. While many discussed the exciting possibilities of robots and smart machines, most conversations kept coming back to one big worry. And that is what happens to people’s jobs?

Larry Fink, who leads BlackRock and served as interim co-chair of the forum, delivered a serious warning during his opening speech. “If AI does to white-collar workers what globalization did to blue-collar workers, we need to confront that reality directly. Not with abstractions about the jobs of tomorrow, but with a credible plan for broad participation in these gains,” he said.

Jamie Dimon, who runs JPMorgan, went further, saying governments need plans ready to step in if companies start firing workers en masse because of new technology.

Dimon painted a troubling picture of what could happen if self-driving trucks suddenly put 2 million American truck drivers out of work, forcing them to accept much smaller paychecks. “How do you have plans in place to make it work better if in fact [AI] does something terrible … and that’s the only way to do it,” he said, warning that such a scenario could spark widespread anger and unrest.

Dario Amodei, head of Anthropic, dropped a bombshell during his Davos appearance, saying the tech world is just “six to 12 months” away from creating an AI system capable of handling nearly everything a software engineer does. Demis Hassabis from Google DeepMind added that this year will likely see AI starting to affect internships and jobs for people just starting their careers. Fink echoed these worries, pointing to analyst roles at law firms and financial companies as particularly vulnerable.

Not everyone painted a doom-and-gloom picture. Huang and Roy Jakobs, who leads Royal Philips, both mentioned radiologists as a success story. They explained how these medical professionals are using AI to do their jobs better, and contrary to predictions that their numbers would drop, more radiologists are working now than before.

Hassabis also suggested that while some lower-level positions might disappear, the technology could create “new, even more valuable, perhaps more meaningful jobs.”

Therapists report rising AI-related anxiety

The anxiety isn’t just theoretical. Emma Kobil, who works as a trauma counselor in Denver, has watched AI become a regular topic in therapy sessions over recent years. “I’ve had clients lose their jobs due to AI, and it’s something we’ve processed in our sessions,” Kobil said, noting patients express “shock, disbelief and fear about navigating a changing career landscape where their skills are no longer needed.”

Harvey Lieberman, a clinical psychologist working in New York, hears similar concerns. “What I hear most often is a fear of becoming obsolete,” he told CNBC. “People start questioning their judgment, their choices or their future.”

The numbers back up these fears.

A July 2025 survey from the American Psychological Association found 38% of workers are worried AI will make parts or all of their job outdated. As reported by Cryptopolitan previously, AI played a role in nearly 55,000 layoffs across the U.S. in 2025, out of roughly 1.2 million total job cuts that year. A Massachusetts Institute of Technology study recently concluded that AI could already take over about 11% of American jobs.

Marc Benioff of Salesforce revealed his company had let go of 4,000 customer support workers because artificial intelligence was already handling 50% of that work. Tech consulting company Accenture and airline group Lufthansa also cited AI when making recent staffing changes.

“People don’t know where they fit into this new society,” said Riana Elyse Anderson, a licensed clinical psychologist and associate professor at Columbia University. “We probably don’t even know the full extent of how psychologically damaging this type of replacement is.”

Ben Yalom, a psychotherapist based in San Diego, explained that losing work to AI hits differently than other types of job loss. “It may feel as if the universe is saying, ‘You are no longer needed,’ which may feel much more profound and disturbing than ‘Our company is downsizing,’ or even ‘You are not doing a great job,'” Yalom said. “It goes deeply into questions of personal value, which is all very unsettling.”

Skilled traders see opposite trend as white-collar jobs struggle

Meanwhile, Mike Rowe is pointing out an interesting twist. Speaking on FOX Business’ “Varney & Co.” on Tuesday, the “Dirty Jobs” host said skilled trade workers face a different reality. “AI is coming for the coders. It’s not yet coming for the welders, and that basic understanding has taken root,” Rowe said.

He noted massive shortages of skilled workers: over 100,000 needed in automotive, 400,000 to 500,000 electricians wanted for BlackRock’s companies alone, and 400,000 positions open in shipbuilding and maritime industries.

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