AI layoffs, reversed: Gartner expects a third of AI-blamed job cuts to return by 2029

Gartner expects organizations to refill 30% of the positions eliminated in AI-related layoffs by 2029. VP analyst Tori Paulman told Computerworld that 30% is the average across companies of all sizes, and that for large enterprises the firm estimates the rehiring rate would be "even higher, roughly 40%". Paulman said more than 50% of Gartner's enterprise clients "have been given a number" by their bosses and told by senior management to find that percentage of savings from AI. Separately, Gartner's research identified widespread "AI washing" - executives who need to cut headcount for purely budgetary reasons and then falsely blame AI because it makes them look better. Other analysts questioned the 30% figure: Frank Dickson of Dickson Research and Melody Brue of Moor Insights & Strategy noted that eliminated work may be offshored, contracted out or absorbed by remaining staff rather than formally rehired. For workers, the finding cuts both ways - it suggests a share of AI-attributed cuts were never really about AI, and that the roles that do return cost employers more than the ones they replaced.