#labor-market · How AI Is Reshaping Work

On October 21 Reuters reported an eBay memo cutting about 9% of the workforce, the second round of 2026 after about 800 roles in February. The memo cites simplifying operations and shifting resources; AI is not mentioned.

Meta's Q3 release on October 21 reported 66,775 employees, down 15% in a year, against $64.6B of revenue, up 26%. Capital spending hit $34.91B in the quarter. The filing does not say AI drove the cut.

CyberSN's cybersecurity jobs report, covered by SecurityWeek on October 18, counts 235,786 US postings for January to September 2026, down 26.4% from 320,210 a year earlier and the lowest in four years. AI mentions reached 20.0% of postings in September; AI Security Engineer postings rose 268.3%.

KPMG's October 15 CEO Outlook, with 400 US CEOs among 1,300-plus surveyed, has 89% expecting headcount to rise over three years and 53% planning reductions in some areas over two to five. Three in four say AI has made them rethink entry-level skills, and 81% expect AI costs to reshape margins more than labor costs.

BLS reported 29,000 jobs for September on October 2, against a consensus near 84,000 to 90,000, with unemployment at 4.2%. Financial activities lost 7,000 and is down 129,000 since May 2025, and July and August were cut by 60,000 between them.

Nike disclosed a multi-year program called Pace on October 1: about $2.5B of cumulative savings through fiscal 2031 for about $1.0B in charges. CEO Elliott Hill says it means fewer roles, with decisions starting in 2027. AI is not mentioned.

ADP reported 90,000 private-sector jobs for September on September 30, up from an August total revised to 36,000. Financial activities lost 16,000 and professional and business services lost 11,000, while manufacturing flipped from a 17,000 loss to a 17,000 gain.

BLS's August JOLTS put US openings at 7.079M, down 256K, with layoffs at 1.64M and a 1.0% rate. Underneath, finance shows 353K openings against 110K hires, and information shows 123K openings against 44K hires.

404 Media reported on September 14 that OpenAI has hundreds of contractors reading real ChatGPT conversations and rating the model's answers. One says the rate clears $50 an hour, the highest price yet disclosed for evaluation work.

Challenger counted 52,881 announced job cuts in August, 58% more than July. In the same report, AI was named in 3,462 of them — its lowest month since December 2025, and the end of a five-month run at the top.

ADP posted 38,000 private-sector jobs for August on September 2, under the 47,000 consensus and under an upwardly revised 46,000 for July. Education and health services alone added 45,000 and leisure and hospitality added 16,000 — more than the whole month's total between them.

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.