The steady drumbeat of headlines warning that artificial intelligence is disrupting the workforce has left many workers wondering whether their jobs could be next.

New data suggests those concerns aren't going away anytime soon.

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U.S.-based companies announced more than 97,000 planned job cuts in May, marking the highest level for the month since the pandemic-era layoffs of 2020, according to Challenger, Gray & Christmas (1). Employers cited AI as the primary reason for 40% of those announced job cuts.

Still, some experts caution against assuming every layoff attributed to AI is the result of a machine replacing a worker.

"Roles involving repetitive tasks that primarily require recognition and interpretation of patterns can utilize AI with greater efficiency," Chris Hutchins, founder and CEO of Hutchins Data Strategy Consultants (2), told Moneywise."If AI is assigned blame after job cuts that proceed beyond these roles, then the underlying cause is likely something other than AI."

In other words, while companies are increasingly pointing to AI as a reason for layoffs, the technology's role in job cuts may be more complicated than the headlines suggest.

Why the numbers don't tell the whole story

In just five months, employers have attributed more layoffs to AI than they did in all of last year. The report shows 87,714 announced job cuts tied to AI through May, compared to 54,836 throughout 2025.

Workers' concerns about AI are widespread. A 2025 Pew Research Center (3) survey found that 52% of workers are worried about AI's future impact on the workplace, while one-third said they feel overwhelmed by the technology.

Several major tech companies have announced significant workforce reductions this year while simultaneously ramping up investments in artificial intelligence.

Oracle disclosed recently that it has reduced its workforce by roughly 21,000 employees (4) over the past year. Meanwhile, Google has continued trimming staff (5) through performance reviews, buyout programs and reorganizations, with outside estimates suggesting between 1,500 and 3,000 engineering roles have been eliminated in 2026.