Evidence
Layoffs citing AI rose in the US; China added new AI occupations and a jobs plan
| Date | Development | Country | What happened | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Aug 25, 2025 | Stanford "Canaries in the Coal Mine" | United States | Workers aged 22 to 25 in the most AI-exposed jobs saw a 16% relative employment drop | Source |
| Sep 2, 2025 | Salesforce support cuts | United States | CEO said AI agents let support staff fall from about 9,000 to 5,000 | Source |
| Jan 28, 2026 | Amazon corporate cuts | United States | 16,000 corporate jobs cut, citing overcapacity and more AI use; about 30,000 with October 2025 | Source |
| Jun 17, 2026 | State Council employment-first plan | China | National monitoring of AI job effects; job-impact reviews of major projects | Source |
| Aug 6, 2026 | Challenger July report | United States | AI cited for 33% of July cuts and 184,538 cuts since 2023 | Source |
| Sep 9, 2026 | MOHRSS new occupations | China | 11 new occupations including AI agent developer; 121 new occupations since 2019 | Source |
| Sep 24, 2026 | IFR World Robotics 2026 | China, EU, US | China installed 354,000 robots, 59% of the world total; most humanoids still pilots | Source |
| Sep 30, 2026 | California AI workplace laws | United States | Four bills signed, including the No Robo Bosses Act and AI disclosure in layoff notices | Source |
Rules
Worker protections target automated firing, surveillance and disclosure
| Rule | Jurisdiction | What it requires | Status |
|---|---|---|---|
| No Robo Bosses Act (SB 947) | California | No discipline or firing based only on automated output; human confirmation and notice | Effective Jul 1, 2027 |
| Employee Technological Displacement Act (SB 951) | California | AI and automation disclosed in mass layoff notices | Effective Jan 1, 2027 |
| EU AI Act emotion recognition ban | EU | No emotion inference at work or school | In force Feb 2, 2025 |
| Illinois HB 3773 | Illinois | No discriminatory AI in employment decisions; notice to workers | Effective Jan 1, 2026 |
| ILA-USMX master contract | US ports | Protections against port automation through 2030 | Ratified Feb 2025 |
| State Council employment-first plan | China | Monitor AI job effects; retraining; unemployment under 5.5% | 2026 to 2030 |
Status colors: green in force, blue voluntary standard or framework, amber adopted and phasing in, gray draft or pending, red withdrawn.
Record
Page Record
- Datasets
- None; tables on this page are static
- Key sources
- Stanford "Canaries in the Coal Mine"
Salesforce support cuts
Amazon corporate cuts
State Council employment-first plan
Challenger July report
MOHRSS new occupations - Source notes
- August and September 2026 Challenger AI figures were not available; July is the latest. The 2025 full-year AI total comes from secondary coverage.
- Last verified
- October 2026