2025 has been the year of the AI boom, with one headline after another about how AI is now being used for everything you can possibly imagine.
You can use the tech to replace your therapist, do hours of grueling research in minutes, and even apply to jobs en masse (which is making recruiters’ lives miserable as we speak).
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One of the most common headlines out there is that AI will replace millions of white-collar jobs, which has been quite scary for a lot of folks in that very workforce.
Several key CEOs have said it in one way or another, including Amazon’s Andy Jassy, Duolingo’s Luis von Ahn, and Shopify’s Tobi Lütke.
Related: Microsoft sends a brutal message to loyal employees
Add in the seemingly endless layoff announcements that have kept coming this year — Microsoft being the latest, having conducted multiple rounds of cuts in the past year — and things don’t look good for the future of making a living.
Companies have cut 744, 308 jobs since the beginning of the year, the largest amount of cuts since the pandemic hit in 2020, per outplacement firm Challenger, Gray & Christmas.
One well-respected financial voice has a different take on the whole situation, however, and he offered an opinion today many will be happy to hear.
Jim Cramer weighs in on AI job losses
CNBC pundit Jim Cramer is known for his opinions about a wide variety of topics, from the stock market to the state of the economy.
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So when he tweeted about the AI jobs situation on July 3, more than 76,000 people paid attention to what he had to say.
“CEOs have been saying that AI will wipe out jobs at their companies,” Cramer wrote. “But it hasn’t happened at most traditional white-collar firms. They are still hiring, still paying a lot. AI is still not trusted at the highest rungs of major companies.”
A few voices sided with Cramer’s take.
“AI’s potential is more hype than reality for now. Traditional firms are cautious, hiring is steady, and trust is still a barrier. Smart money knows the game: Invest in companies that leverage AI responsibly, not those that chase the buzz,” wrote X user 007ofWallStreet.
Related: Google’s quiet AI win spells trouble for Amazon
However, most opinions went in the opposite direction.
“Tell that to the 9K people at MSFT that just got laid off due to AI,” X user Luca said.
“You are blind Cramer,” wrote X user RaleighReefs. “I would think someone that deals in stocks would be able to see long term in other areas than stocks. Clearly your skills don’t translate.”
“Any home-gamer or cramerican who has tapped into Grok, Chat GPT, or other AI platform can see the incredible power of this technology. This will translate to the corporate world as well. Hopefully new jobs will emerge as AI takes over the more mundane and repetitive tasks. Early innings,” wrote X user Jim Pulanski.
Embracing AI too quickly
While many major tech companies are investing heavily in AI and aggressively cutting their headcounts, there is such a thing as moving too fast, too soon.
Fintech company Klarna tried to embrace the tech quickly, going as far as to boast that it had saved $10 million by replacing 700 of its human employees with AI chatbots.
But after its Q1 earnings reflected a $99 million net loss, Klarna backpedaled and said it would go back to hiring human employees.
“As cost unfortunately seems to have been a too-predominant evaluation factor when organizing this, what you end up having is lower quality,” Siemiatkowski said, referring to the customer experience with AI.
Some other businesses, like Walmart, have promised a more hopeful approach, saying that it will use AI in tandem with its workforce rather than replacing them with it.
“AI is a key enabler in improving how we work, and we believe its full potential is unlocked only when paired with the strengths of our people,” Walmart Transformation & Innovation Senior VP Greg Cathey said.
Related: Jim Cramer has bold advice for Apple’s Tim Cook
