Replacing Workers with AI? You May Come to Regret It
ITPro, Monday, November 2nd, 2026
Gartner predicts 30% of employees laid off and replaced by AI will be rehired by 2029, typically at a higher cost to the business.
New Gartner research says kneejerk decisions to replace staff with AI stem from poor workforce planning, with only 19% of firms having practices to understand how work is changing and align talent strategy with business goals.
As a result, Gartner expects around 30% of employees terminated and replaced by AI to be rehired by 2029, usually at greater cost.
Gartner analyst Caitlyn McDonough says organizations decide how many people to cut before understanding what it takes to get work done.
Gartner recommends starting from enterprise strategy, identifying critical capabilities, forecasting work demand, assessing human and AI capacity, quantifying gaps and establishing governance for workforce investments.