#automation · How AI Is Reshaping Work

On its October 14 call Bank of America said headcount was down nearly 3,500 from a year ago as it automates processes, that it no longer has to hire as many people to refill roles, and that about 130 AI projects should lift benefits from $250 to $300M this year to $700M in 2027.

Journalists at all nine Ebra regional dailies struck on October 9, with about 67% of staff out according to the SNJ. The trigger is a voluntary plan for up to 400 of roughly 3,200 jobs and a project to automate page layout. Management says AI will assist newsrooms, not replace anyone.

UPS said on October 7 it will hire more than 100,000 seasonal workers, about 9% fewer than last year and 20% fewer than in 2024. The release lists automated sites in four cities but gives no reason for the lower number.

Google shipped Gemini 3.8 Live and Extended Thinking on September 15, with Extended Thinking taking first place on Artificial Analysis' speech-to-speech index at 82.6. At the published per-minute rates, an hour of two-way audio runs about $1.38.

Andon Labs opened Pion on September 14, a waitlisted platform for handing a business to persistent agents. The same week, a reporter walked into the company's own AI-run San Francisco shop and found no customers and $60,000 left of the original $100,000.

California's 2026 session ended August 31 with 26 AI-related bills passed and 24 now on Gov. Newsom's desk. SB 951 would require covered employers to give 90 days' notice before any technological displacement hitting 25% or more of the workforce. AB 1018, which would have regulated AI in employment decisions outright, did not pass.

A three-year contract UFCW published on August 28 carries one sentence: no employee in the unit may be 「terminated, laid off, demoted, or suffer a reduction in regularly scheduled hours」 because of AI. The unit is seven booksellers in Washington, D.C.

BLS published its 2025-35 Employment Projections on August 27: 5.9 million net new jobs over the decade, total employment from 170.3 million to 176.2 million, growth of 3.5% against 10.9% in the prior decade. Office and administrative support falls 4.0% and sheds 752,100 jobs, the largest decline of any major occupational group.

Walmart raised full-year guidance on August 20 on comps led by transactions, not ticket. The numbers to file away came later in the call: 3,100-plus stores on automated freight, and a headcount policy that says 2.1 million stays 2.1 million.

JD released its robot strategy at the World Robot Conference on August 19: 10B yuan-scale investment through 2028, an after-sales network across 100-plus countries, 80 RoboBase sites, and a pledge of more than 100,000 new robot service engineer roles.

Andon Labs' AI store manager recommended terminating an employee, the first known firing decision by an LLM. The logs show engineers had to prompt it to go read its own attendance policy.

Genpact posted $1.343B in Q2 revenue, up 7.1%, with employees down both sequentially and year over year. The CEO said the company is 「just getting started」 on headcount.