By Heath Parkes-Hupton
Publication Date: 2026-05-02 02:41:00
Australia could be “sleepwalking” into a major shift in the world of work as it lags behind seemingly clear signs that artificial intelligence (AI) is reshaping American businesses.
Data from the US shows S&P 500 companies – the top companies on the New York Stock Exchange – cut 400,000 employees in 2025, the first annual decline in a decade.
The decline was driven by companies including United Parcel Service, Amazon, Meta, Oracle and Microsoft, some of which have cut further jobs in 2026 as part of an ongoing AI shift.
Clinton Free, a professor at the University of Sydney Business School, described the trend of white-collar job losses in the US not as a “sudden collapse” but as “erosion,” adding that similar signs were emerging in Australia.
“I think Australia may be a little earlier in the curve than the US… but I think we’re seeing employment trends moving in a similar direction,” he said.
“…there is a slowdown in demand and some softening in white-collar jobs,…
