Business
Goldman Sachs’ CEO debunks AI job replacement hysteria because he says humans will adapt like they always do: ‘Our economy is very nimble’
David Solomon, CEO of one of the most influential and storied Wall Street firms, Goldman Sachs, isn’t convinced an AI jobs apocalypse is on its way.
In an interview with CNN, Solomon questioned the impact of the AI-linked layoffs that have recently caused widespread anxiety, from average job seekers to Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell. While technological change may be moving faster than usual, we’ve seen this story before, he said.
“There will be disruption. But I’m a big believer that our economy is very nimble, very flexible. And when you look at the technology that has flooded over hundreds of years into our society, we adapt,” Solomon said. “We find new businesses. We find new jobs. I don’t believe it will be different this time.”
The most recent of these AI-linked layoffs arguably includes the 14,000 employees cut by Amazon last week. During the company’s quarterly earnings call last week, CEO Andy Jassy said the job cuts were “not even really AI-driven, not right now at least.” Still, Jassy earlier this year warned Amazon will not need as many employees in the future thanks to AI efficiency gains.
Other AI-linked layoffs include Meta, which cut 600 jobs in its AI division, as well as Salesforce, which cut thousands of customer-service jobs in favor of AI agents. Finally, Microsoft cut 9,000 jobs earlier this year; CEO Satya Nadella said the company will add jobs in the future, but “with a lot more leverage than the headcount we had pre-AI.”
While many of these layoffs have grabbed headlines, a survey of Goldman Sachs investment bankers last week found only 11% of clients are actively cutting jobs because of AI.
But the same survey found companies’ adoption of AI tools in their main business processes is heating up. The investment bankers found 37% of their clients, which span industries like real estate, tech, and finance, are using the technology for regular production. In the next year, the bankers expect more than half of their clients will follow suit, and in three years’ time, 74% of them will be incorporating AI into their businesses.
Solomon, for his part, claims corporate AI implementation may mean fewer white-collar jobs, but said these positions will be picked up in other parts of the economy
Still, Solomon said the growing enthusiasm for AI could be a double-edged sword for the economy. While he has previously stopped short of calling the recent AI market exuberance a “bubble,” he warned that just like in previous waves of technological change, not everyone will come out winning.
“The technology is exciting – there should be a lot of enthusiasm for it,” Solomon said. “But there will be bumps along the way, too.”
