Nice while it lasted: Workers share how AI automation eliminated their $70K-$150K jobs

Workers across multiple industries are losing their jobs to artificial intelligence automation, with personal accounts revealing the immediate human impact of AI displacement. The layoffs span from HR professionals to software engineers, highlighting how AI is already reshaping the job market faster than many anticipated.

What you should know: Recent layoffs demonstrate AI’s growing capability to replace white-collar workers, particularly those whose work is primarily computer-based.

• Jane, a Bay Area HR professional earning $70,000 annually, was laid off in January after two years managing benefits when her boss automated her role away.
• Software engineer Shawn K, who made $150,000 after 21 years in tech, was laid off from FrameVR.io, a virtual reality company, in April 2024 after the company embraced AI tools that dramatically increased productivity.
• Brian Ream’s medical translation business dried up completely as clients switched to ChatGPT, a popular AI chatbot, eliminating orders for over a year.

The big picture: Industry leaders are warning of massive job displacement in the coming years, with predictions that half of entry-level white-collar positions could disappear.

• Dario Amodei, CEO of Anthropic (a leading AI company), predicted AI could eliminate 50% of entry-level white-collar jobs and push unemployment to 10-20% within five years.
• “The general public is unaware that this is about to happen,” Amodei told Axios. “It sounds crazy, and people just don’t believe it.”

What they’re saying: Workers are grappling with the reality that AI capabilities now exceed human performance in their fields.

• “AI is a better programmer than me, and that doesn’t mean that I think that I have no value to offer anymore,” said K. “I just think that means I can now do 100 times as much as what I was doing before.”
• “I’m really convinced that anybody whose job is done on a computer all day is over. It’s just a matter of time,” K added.
• Jane observed: “What’s happening is there’s a huge white collar slowdown. I think jobs are going away.”

Key challenges: The job search process itself has become increasingly automated, creating additional barriers for displaced workers.

• Jane encountered an AI system conducting phone interviews, describing it as “kind of like having an interview with an automated voicemail” that provided generic responses.
• K submitted nearly 800 applications over more than a year before landing a contract position, resorting to DoorDash deliveries to cover two mortgages.

Why this matters: These accounts provide concrete evidence that AI job displacement is not a future concern but a current reality affecting experienced professionals across industries, potentially accelerating beyond what economic forecasters have predicted.