While the technology sector is experiencing a wave of layoffs that many experts directly link to the adoption of artificial intelligence, one of the world's leading economists claims the opposite. Thorsten Slok, Chief Economist at Apollo Global Management, asserts that there is currently no real evidence of job losses due to AI.

Slok's statement, published in his blog on May 28, stands in sharp contrast to market sentiments and news of layoffs at dozens of companies. The economist relies on weekly ADP employment data, which, in his view, shows no signs of cuts driven by automation.

Spending boom and employment growth

According to ADP data, the private sector added nearly 110,000 new employees to its payrolls in April. Slok interprets these figures as proof that companies are not downsizing but, rather, are hiring specialists en masse to implement new technologies.

The economist notes that the large-scale construction of data centers is stimulating demand in the labor market, driving up salaries for AI specialists. Furthermore, demand for semiconductors, equipment, and energy is growing. Slok formulated his main conclusion as follows: the boom in spending on artificial intelligence is simultaneously driving up both employment and inflation.

Based on this logic, Slok forecasts that the number of new jobs in the non-farm sector in May could significantly exceed market expectations of 95,000.

The Jevons Paradox in action

In his argumentation, the economist cites the Jevons Paradox. He describes this as a mechanism working in real time: when technology becomes cheaper and more accessible, demand for it grows, which ultimately creates more jobs rather than destroying them. According to Slok, the cheapening of AI does not displace people but increases the need for their involvement.

Optimistic forecasts are being heard more frequently lately. OpenAI CEO Sam Altman admitted he was wrong in his pessimistic forecast about a "job apocalypse." Similar views are shared by leaders of major corporations investing in AI: Box CEO Aaron Levie, Dell CEO Michael Dell, and Goldman Sachs CEO David Solomon.

The reality of layoffs

However, layoff statistics paint a different picture. Since the beginning of 2026, nearly 116,000 people have lost their jobs in the technology sector. This figure is rapidly approaching the total of 124,000 layoffs for all of 2025. A significant portion of these cuts is directly linked to AI—either through replacing employees with algorithms or redirecting resources to AI infrastructure.

There are plenty of examples of such decisions. Last week, Wix announced the layoff of about 20% of its workforce, amounting to more than a thousand people. The company's CEO, Avishai Abrahami, directly cited the need to adapt to changes driven by AI.

Earlier this year, Block cut more than 4,000 employees, citing a reduced need for human labor due to the implementation of artificial intelligence. Intuit, Amazon, Cisco, IBM, and other tech giants acted in a similar vein.

Alarming signals from surveys

Prospects look no less alarming. A survey by consulting firm Mercer, which involved nearly a thousand executives, showed that 99% of them expect at least partial downsizing due to AI in the next two years.

The psychological climate in companies is also deteriorating. The share of employees stating that they "thrive" at work has dropped from 66% in 2024 to 44% in 2026. Despite the optimism of economists like Thorsten Slok, the reality for millions of workers remains complex and uncertain.