The other side of the AI boom
14 stories · 9–14
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Cisco
Cisco said it would cut under 4,000 jobs, about 5% of the workforce, on the same day it reported record third-quarter revenue amid demand for its AI infrastructure. Chief executive Chuck Robbins told staff the winners in the AI era will keep shifting investment, and that this round of cuts was one of those hard decisions.
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Amazon
Amazon said in January that it was cutting 16,000 jobs, and CBS News reported that the memo to employees did not mention AI. In 2025, chief executive Andy Jassy had written that investing in AI agents would mean fewer people doing some of today's jobs and more people doing other ones.
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Block
In February, Jack Dorsey told shareholders that Block will shrink from around 10,000 employees to 6,000 because the company's AI tools are speeding the work. CBS News carried the letter in May, in a piece on companies pointing to AI as they cut jobs.
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Dow
Dow, a chemical and plastics manufacturer, is eliminating roughly 4,500 jobs while increasing its use of AI and automation. CBS News reported the cut alongside tech and finance announcements, a sign the same explanation is showing up outside software.
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Pinterest said it plans to cut 15% of its workforce and described the change as part of an AI-forward strategy. A spokesperson told CBS News that the plan includes hiring people who are already proficient with AI, so the cut is also a change in who the company wants to employ.
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Salesforce
Marc Benioff said Salesforce had cut customer support from 9,000 people to about 5,000 because the company needed fewer of them. CNBC reported that he had also said AI was already doing as much as half the work at the company.