Although artificial intelligence has been frequently cited as a primary factor behind the widespread layoffs witnessed this year, a newly released global survey suggests a far more nuanced future. Rather than merely displacing workers, the technology could act as a powerful force for rejuvenation in the labor market—particularly within entry-level positions—by as early as next year. According to the survey’s findings, while automation may have reduced staff in the short term, it is also laying the groundwork for renewed hiring momentum and redefined employment landscapes.

Recent data from Teneo, a respected global advisory firm, reveal that chief executive officers of publicly traded companies foresee a notable upswing in workforce expansion as AI adoption advances. The annual outlook survey, published this month, shows that a striking sixty-seven percent of participating CEOs expect AI-driven tools and systems to stimulate greater entry-level hiring by 2026. Moreover, fifty-eight percent indicated plans to increase the number of senior leadership positions, illustrating that AI’s impact will not be confined to junior roles alone but will extend throughout corporate hierarchies.

The report highlights that many organizations are intensifying recruitment efforts in fields directly linked to technology, such as software engineering, data science, and AI-related development. This surge reflects a broader transformation in how tasks are distributed: as automation assumes responsibility for repetitive or data-heavy activities, traditional roles are being restructured, redefined, or reassigned to leverage human creativity and analytical judgment where machines still fall short. In essence, rather than eliminating employment altogether, AI is prompting a redistribution of labor that encourages upskilling and the creation of hybrid human–machine workflows.

Conducted between October 14 and November 10, the survey compiled responses from more than 350 CEOs leading public corporations that each generate at least $1 billion annually in revenue. Additionally, about 400 institutional investors, collectively representing an estimated $19 trillion in managed assets, contributed their perspectives. The breadth of participation underscores the global significance of these findings and lends weight to the suggestion that AI’s economic influence will be both extensive and multifaceted.

Interestingly, the study challenges the dominant narrative that artificial intelligence is relentlessly automating entire professions out of existence. As Ryan Cox, Teneo’s global head of AI, explained, the issue is not that AI is “erasing” today’s workforce but rather that it is reshaping it—an evolution that reflects how industries adapt dynamically to technological innovation. This reconfiguration is mirrored in the rapidly expanding corporate expenditures dedicated to AI infrastructure, training, and integration. Nearly sixty-eight percent of responding CEOs plan to raise their AI investment next year, an increase from sixty-six percent projected in 2025. An overwhelming majority—close to nine in ten—reported that AI is already helping their organizations anticipate and adapt to market disruptions, further reinforcing its reputation as both a catalyst and a stabilizer in times of change.

Nevertheless, with ambitious spending come equally high expectations. More than half of institutional investors now anticipate visible returns on AI initiatives within a matter of six months or less. Corporate leaders, however, remain more cautious: among executives overseeing companies with annual revenues exceeding $10 billion, only sixteen percent believe that such rapid results are attainable. This divergence in outlook suggests an ongoing tension between investor impatience and executive pragmatism regarding the pace at which AI transformations can realistically deliver measurable benefits.

Despite the optimism surrounding AI-driven growth, anxieties about job security persist—especially as major corporations continue to announce workforce reductions tied to automation and efficiency campaigns. HP, in its November earnings report, stated intentions to eliminate between 4,000 and 6,000 positions by the end of 2028, a move designed to achieve approximately $1 billion in savings. Similarly, IBM disclosed plans to shrink its workforce by a single-digit percentage during the final quarter of 2025. These announcements fuel widespread concern that automation could permanently reduce employment opportunities.

Yet even in these cases, the shift is far more complex than a simple replacement of humans by machines. IBM’s CEO, Arvind Krishna, emphasized in a CNN interview in October that the company is concurrently reallocating resources toward strategic growth in AI and quantum computing. As part of that evolution, IBM intends to expand its hiring of recent college graduates, cultivating new talent capable of advancing the firm’s technological ambitions. Krishna further explained to The Wall Street Journal in May that the integration of AI has not only automated certain functions but also amplified the need for skilled programmers, data engineers, and sales professionals who can interpret, contextualize, and market AI-driven products.

This transformation has led to the emergence of entirely new occupational categories that did not exist just a few years ago. Workplace analysts, cited in a Business Insider report earlier this month, noted the growing presence of roles such as “decision designer” and “AI experience officer,” positions centered on the ethical guidance, optimization, and humanization of artificial intelligence systems. These professionals specialize in ensuring that AI tools augment, rather than override, human judgment, facilitating productive collaboration between people and machines.

In sum, while AI continues to disrupt long-standing business models and labor practices, the overall picture is one of reinvention rather than destruction. The unfolding trend points toward a future in which technological advancement and human expertise evolve together, producing a more adaptive, diversified, and forward-looking workforce by 2026 and beyond.

Sourse: https://www.businessinsider.com/ai-hiring-comeback-entry-level-jobs-ceo-teneo-survey-2025-12