A costly mistake? Report claims a third of employees fired due to AI will need to be rehired in the next few years

Surely some mistake?

by · TechRadar

News By Christian Cawley Published 14 September 2026

(Image credit: Shutterstock)

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  • Gartner predicts that around 33% of people laid off due to AI could be rehired by 2029
  • Those rehired employees, presumably filling similar roles, will command higher salaries
  • Further predictions point to 75% of organizations making cost savings from AI productivity being overtaken by competing companies with a stronger modernizing philosophy

People laid off from their roles due to a corporate refocusing on AI could soon find themselves rehired – or at least, their former roles being advertised, new Gartner research has claimed.

It predicts that by 2027, 75% of organizations who expected to make cost savings by focusing on AI productivity over human endeavor will be overtaken by companies who reinvested those savings in modernization and training.

Organizations which have made large cuts to their workforce in order to take advantage of perceived productivity boosts from automation could be forced to change to a new human-centric philosophy, where skills and abilities can be amplified while AI does the grunt work.

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AI vs. management

Choices made by companies across all industries could be cause for regret in future, as the truth about how AI is used comes to light. Rather than being a disruptor of employment, the notion of intelligent automation may be considered as a missed opportunity by some organizations.

"When business and IT executives look back on the early AI era, they will realize their greatest mistake was believing that work automation was the point, when workforce amplification was the opportunity," noted Tori Paulman, VP analyst at Gartner.

That mistake – which could not only have severe consequences for the business – could have had striking impacts on individuals, all due to a misunderstanding of what AI can deliver.

"The competitive advantage will go to the CIOs and business executives,” continues Paulman, “who build an AI-shaped organization where AI value compounds by reshaping roles and allowing workflows to cross traditional boundaries, increasing velocity and reducing friction."

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