[비즈한국] As artificial intelligence (AI) becomes increasingly sophisticated and more companies jump into AI adoption, global employment instability driven by AI is becoming a reality. Last year, more than 50,000 people were laid off due to AI in the United States, and this wave of AI-driven layoffs is continuing fiercely this year. Furthermore, the number of companies reducing new hiring due to AI is also on the rise.
In Korea, while the total number of employed persons showed signs of improvement in the first quarter of this year, the information and communications industry and the professional, scientific, and technical services sector—both directly affected by AI advancement—saw a decline of over 100,000 jobs. Considering that the number of job losses was around 10,000 in the fourth quarter of last year, just three months prior, it suggests that the shock to the labor market caused by AI advancement is growing increasingly severe.
On the 10th, President Lee Jae-myung held a meeting at the Blue House with key figures from the Korean Confederation of Trade Unions (KCTU), including KCTU Chairman Yang Kyung-soo. At the meeting, Chairman Yang stated, "The introduction of physical AI seeks the extinction of jobs, not just a shift," adding, "Given the historical experience that automation equates to job loss, it is inevitable for workers to be deeply concerned." In response, President Lee promised, "There is no need to be overly fearful," and added, "I would appreciate it if the labor sector could discuss countermeasures. If you do, I will accept them to the extent possible, incorporate them into government policy, and implement them all at once."
In fact, cases of employees being laid off due to AI are surging worldwide, just as Chairman Yang noted. On the 15th, Snap, the operator of the U.S. social network service (SNS) 'Snapchat,' carried out a restructuring affecting 16% of its total permanent staff. As a result, not only were 1,000 employees laid off, but 300 open positions were eliminated. Existing employees were pushed out due to AI, and new job opportunities were also reduced. Evan Spiegel, CEO of Snap, explained the justification for the mass layoffs, stating, "We must shift our direction to achieve profitable growth."
These mass layoffs became prominent starting last year as AI adoption went into full swing. According to foreign media and other sources, U.S. Big Tech companies like Amazon and Microsoft, which benefited from AI, initiated massive layoffs, leading to 54,836 AI-related job losses last year. This is a 332% surge compared to 2024. The International Monetary Fund (IMF) called this phenomenon a "tsunami" and predicted that 60% of jobs in developed countries would be affected in the future.
As if to prove this prediction, the number of AI-driven layoffs is increasing further this year. According to Tech Layoff Tracker, 27,223 people were laid off from Big Tech companies including Amazon in January, and in February, companies like Block sent layoff notices to 24,631 employees. In March, Oracle and others laid off 38,452 employees.
In Korea, the decline in jobs due to AI is also becoming more severe. Employment in the information and communications industry and the professional, scientific, and technical services sector, which are closely related to AI, fell by 6,000 year-on-year in the first quarter of 2020 during the height of COVID-19, and continued a downward trend until the fourth quarter of 2020 (-20,000). However, it subsequently turned to growth, showing a trend of increasing by more than 100,000 every quarter. This trend continued until the first half of last year, with the number of employed persons in these sectors reaching 2,628,000 in the first quarter of 2025, an increase of 141,000 compared to the same period the previous year. Considering that the total increase in employed persons at the time was 155,000, this accounted for 91.0% of the total growth.
The growth in employment in the information and communications and the professional, scientific, and technical services sectors continued into the second quarter, adding 157,000 jobs. However, this growth momentum began to break in the second half of the year when the AI shock began in earnest. In the third quarter of last year, the number of employed persons in these sectors was 2,609,000, an increase of only 45,000 compared to the same period the previous year. By the fourth quarter, it shifted into the negative, with the number of employed persons falling by 11,000 compared to the same period the previous year, dropping below the 2.6 million mark to 2,568,000.
This situation has worsened further entering this year. In the first quarter of this year, the number of employed persons in the information and communications and the professional, scientific, and technical services sectors stood at 2,520,000, a staggering decrease of 108,000 compared to the same period the previous year. Unlike the overall job market, which remained robust with a total increase of 183,000 employed persons, the job market in fields hit by AI has frozen rapidly.