A new eport reveals how AI-driven disruption is accelerating job loss, forcing workers to rapidly reskill and reinvent their careers.
The report is based on a new global study of 8,281 LHH Career Transition & Mobility candidates between January 2024 and March 2025, supplemented by proprietary analytics from over 200,000 candidates supported in 2024. The findings reveal a growing challenge: automation and AI-driven disruption is making reemployment harder, while many workers underestimate the role of AI in job loss.
Just 12.4% of LHH Career Transition candidates cited AI as a factor in layoffs, yet close to half of employers said headcount has already been reduced because of AI and 54% are expecting additional reductions within the next five years. This perception gap is leaving workers underprepared to assess and adapt their skills to remain competitive in the talent market.
“AI is accelerating workforce transformation at a pace that is outpacing traditional approaches to talent management. Almost 60% of displaced workers in our programs are not just switching jobs, but entering entirely different job families,” said John Morgan, President of LHH’s Career Transition & Mobility, Leadership Development & Coaching and HR & Talent Advisory businesses. “This is a critical moment for organizations to rethink both career transitions and internal mobility, so employees can evolve alongside the technologies reshaping roles. It calls for a new model of support that combines personalized coaching, AI-enabled tools and forward-looking skills development, so opportunities for growth and reinvention are available for employees within the organization and throughout the outplacement process.”
Key Findings:
Career reinvention is the new normal
In the age of AI, the career transition journey is about more than pivoting into a new role, but instead about stepping into new job functions and professional identities entirely. The report found that 58% of LHH career transition candidates in 2024 pivoted to entirely new occupations, despite just about 74% originally seeking a similar role to the one they had lost.
AI-driven workforce reductions lengthen employee reentry into the workforce
Workers impacted by AI are also facing longer and more complex paths back to employment. Only 36.9% of candidates laid off due to AI were reemployed within three months, compared to 46.2% of those whose layoffs were unrelated to AI. Additionally, candidates shifting roles due to AI are more than twice as likely to remain out of work for at least a year or more.
These extended transitions point to deeper challenges such as skill mismatches, market readiness and emotional resistance to the technology that continues to contribute to displacement, all of which require stronger, more sustained support to overcome.
Growing appetite for AI skills, but limited employer support
LHH career transition candidates show there is a clear, distinct desire from employees to build AI capabilities: nearly two-thirds want to grow skills, and 70% have already started learning. However, most are doing it on their own, with just around 10% accessing employer-provided training while the majority rely on self-directed tutorials or on-demand courses. This signals a growing gap between the urgency of AI upskilling and the formal support being offered. Employers who fail to close this gap risk falling behind, both in retaining talent and building a workforce ready for the future.
For organizations, the message is clear: empowering the workforce to adapt to AI can not be optional. This must be part of the talent strategy, and the first step is understanding the complex, changing work environment, the reality of employee experience and where business leaders must invest to stay ahead.
Visit LHH’s Reinvention Imperative to access the full report.0
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Tags: Artificial Intelligence, Payroll
