Bond.az -- Artificial intelligence is driving a growing share of corporate layoffs, according to a UBS Global Research report released May 13, 2026.
While enterprise AI adoption remains gradual, corporate optimism about future labor cost reduction is accelerating. A UBS survey found 42% of respondents expect AI to reduce hiring, up from 31% in October 2025.
Challenger, Gray & Christmas data shows 26% of announced layoffs last month were directly attributed to AI, pushing the year-to-date share to 16%. One year ago, AI accounted for 0% of layoffs at this point, and just 5% for all of 2025.
UBS economist Arend Kapteyn notes the Challenger dataset captures about 100,000 job cuts monthly, or 5% of total layoffs, skewed toward large tech firms.
