SAP is the latest big tech player to cut jobs as it pours money into AI, with the German software giant announcing this week that it is investing more than $2 billion to integrate artificial intelligence into its business as part of what it called “transformation program.” At the same time, the company said Tuesday it plans to restructure 8,000 roles. Some of the workers will be laid off, while others will be re-trained to work with AI. The company said it expects to employ roughly the same number of workers at year’s end as it does now. SAP is not an outlier. In the little more than a year since generative AI tools like ChatGPT, based on so-called large language model technology, have been available to the public, a number of large tech companies have announced plans to plunge into AI — job cuts often follow. “I would counsel folks to watch what the firms do, and if they are saying the presence of large language models is allowing them to lay people off, that has to be taken into account,” said Mark Muro, a senior fellow at the Brookings Institution who studies the interplay between technology and people. “There is no doubt forthcoming work is going to show that coding and many engineering type occupations have very high exposure levels [to AI]. So we should take them at face value on this.” Last week, Alphabet-owned Google said it laid off hundreds of workers from its ad sales team as it further invests in AI. Although Google did not directly attribute the layoffs to AI, in a memo to employees obtained by Business Insider Google’s chief business officer, Philipp Schindler, referred to the “profound moment we’re in with AI” in announcing the cuts. Microsoft is also doubling down on AI, investing billions in ChatGPT maker OpenAI, as it slashes jobs. And language learning platform Duolingo acknowledged a 10% reduction in its contractor workforce at the end of 2023, but denied that all of the cuts were related to increased AI usage.

Full report : Tech companies are slashing thousands of jobs as they pivot toward AI.