Is the big AI job displacement already under way?

RTÉ News​

13-07-2025

The impact of artificial intelligence (AI) on employment came into sharp focus this week.
On Tuesday, the Minister of State with responsibility for AI, Niamh Smyth, told the Oireachtas Committee on Artificial Intelligence that there will be a certain amount of job displacement because of AI.
Also this week, the latest 'Employment Monitor' from recruitment firm Morgan McKinley Ireland found notable reductions in graduate hiring by major firms in the accountancy and finance sectors because of the adoption of AI.
And on Thursday, AIB announced a major AI rollout for staff in conjunction with Microsoft Ireland, sparking concerns from trade unions.
Graduate hiring
Morgan McKinley Ireland's Employment Monitor for the second quarter of the year was published on Thursday.
The recruitment firm said that the standout development of the quarter was the significant impact of AI and automation, particularly within the accountancy and finance sectors.
"The notable reduction in graduate hiring by major firms, driven by AI capabilities, highlights potential challenges ahead," the report found.
"Companies are increasingly leveraging AI capabilities to automate routine tasks such as accounts payable, accounts receivable, credit control, and payroll."
"A notable trend driven by automation is the reduction in graduate-level hiring, raising concerns about potential shortages of experienced mid-level professionals, which could impact future business operations and growth," according to Morgan McKinley.
The graduates of today may well end up being the key staff members, middle-managers and executives of tomorrow.
It means there is a danger that companies could be depriving themselves of future talent pipelines by reducing graduate hiring.
"We have certainly learned from the crash of 2008 that it did have a knock-on effect and impact on the workforce four to five years later," said Trayc Keevans, Global Director, Morgan McKinley Ireland.
"We are advising caution at this point that a reduction in graduate numbers, albeit to offset against certain advancements that AI may be giving by eradicating some early tasks, will impact that middle management and oversight level that is required to pipeline for future talent," Ms Keevans said.
Many companies have decided that entry-level, repetitive tasks that were traditionally done by graduates, can now be done by AI tools.
But performing these so-called 'menial' tasks are often a way for new recruits to learn their trade and gain experience from a ground-up approach.
"Graduates, particularly in the areas of accounting and finance, that come through professional service firms, got experience previously in things like budget reconciliation, document reviews, and first past audit checks," Ms Keevans said.
"But these types of tasks can now be done by AI."
"While that redefining of graduate roles is happening, there is caution amongst employers to hire the same volume of graduates that they would otherwise have."
"We expect and hope this is a short-term view while employers are catching up with the redesign of these graduate roles," she added.
Graduates will also need skills to control and supervise the AI models that their employers are increasingly relying on.
To do that, they will need to understand the tasks that are being performed by the technology.
"It is really about making sure they get sufficient exposure and experience to develop oversight skills and to ensure that, rather than competing with AI in the future, they will be working with it and governing it efficiently and ethically," Ms Keevans said.
According to the Morgan McKinley Employment Monitor, the rise of AI is not just impacting the jobs market in a negative way, it is also leading to increased hiring for roles such as data engineers.
AI rollout at AIB
AIB announced a new artificial intelligence rollout for staff in conjunction with Microsoft Ireland on Thursday.
The bank said the new tools will reduce time spent on repetitive tasks, freeing up employees for higher-value work.
The plan will involve the widespread deployment of Microsoft 365 Copilot, embedding AI into everyday tools like Outlook, Word, Excel, Teams, and PowerPoint.
The Financial Services Union (FSU) expressed concerns that AIB made its big AI announcement before a formal agreement had been finalised with unions.
"We had submitted a draft agreement that we wished to conclude with the bank on the adoption of AI, as we believe that is the best way forward to manage change of this potential scale," General Secretary of the FSU John O'Connell said.
"We would strongly wish that we had an agreement before the announcement was made but we have ongoing engagement with the bank, and we are confident we will reach agreement on this."
"I think the big worry is displacement and potential job losses but while AI is a disruptor, it is also an enabler."
"There is potential, but that potential has to be exploited with a laser-like focus in terms of reskilling people who are impacted," Mr O'Connell added.
AIB has insisted that staff will be offered a comprehensive package of support and training to ensure they get the most out of the new AI tools.
The bank also said it has been engaging with unions on its AI rollout and will continue to do so.
Last month, the Chief Executive of AIB Colin Hunt took part in a panel discussion at a Bloomberg event in Dublin.
Asked what impact AI will have on staffing numbers at the bank over the next five years, Mr Hunt said it may lead to a small reduction in net headcount.
"I do think that there are certain manual processes that we do now that will be done by AI in the future, and probably net headcount will be broadly stable with a slight downward bias maybe," Mr Hunt said.
A recent survey by the FSU and the think tank TASC revealed widespread concern among staff in the financial services sector over the possible effects of AI.
The research found that 88% of respondents believe AI will lead to job displacement, while 60% report feeling less secure in their roles than they did five years ago.
The survey findings were raised by members of the Oireachtas AI Committee this week during an appearance by Ms Smyth.
"We have to acknowledge that there will be a certain amount of displacement," she said.
"But I would hope that with the establishment of an AI Observatory, that would give us clear data and analysis to see where this is going, where the jobs are being impacted and how we can mitigate against that," she added.
Layoffs in the tech sector
Earlier this month, Microsoft announced plans to cut 9,000 jobs globally following on from 6,000 layoffs announced in May, and 1,000 redundancies in January.
The cuts come amid a major drive towards AI at the tech giant.
"The company has invested billions in AI infrastructure, and CEO Satya Nadella recently noted that up to 30% of Microsoft's code is now written by AI tools," according to Fortune Magazine.
"While Microsoft has not directly attributed the layoffs to AI replacing human workers, the timing and focus of the cuts suggest a shift toward a leaner, more automated organisation."
Microsoft employs more than 4,000 people in Ireland across software development, engineering, data centres, finance, operations, and sales and marketing services.
It also owns LinkedIn, which employs more than 2,000 people in Ireland, bringing Microsoft's total Irish-based headcount to over 6,000 people.
The company has not said how many Irish-based roles will be cut as part of these latest layoffs, but the Department of Enterprise confirmed at the time of the announcement that it had received a collective redundancy notification from Microsoft.
A recent Workplace Relations Commission (WRC) hearing was told that 150 job cuts announced last year for multilingual support staff at TikTok's Irish office were driven by major advancements in AI.
A barrister for TikTok told the WRC that the business rationale for the layoffs was based on "vastly improving" AI technology "taking on a bigger role" and "reducing the number of employees required, particularly language skills".
Which jobs will be most impacted by AI?
Last year the Government produced a series of reports entitled 'Artificial Intelligence: Friend or Foe'.
The research focussing on the labour market impacts found that around 30% of workers are employed in roles that are at risk of being replaced by AI.
The report concluded that people working in the financial and insurance sector, and the information and communication sector are the most exposed.
It found that at-risk jobs include laboratory technicians, accountants, telephone salespeople, and IT operations technicians.
The agriculture, forestry and fishing sector was found to be the least exposed.
Women appear to be relatively more exposed to AI than men, arising from the fact more women are employed in administrative or customer occupations.
Men, on the other hand, are more likely to be employed in agricultural or construction-related roles.
According to the study, Ireland's labour market is marginally more exposed to AI than the advanced economy average at 63% vs 60%.
The research also found that 33% of employment is in occupations where AI is likely to complement labour and boost productivity.
As companies embrace artificial intelligence, most are currently focussed on the tasks that AI can replace rather than the people.
But what happens when bosses start to realise that the people who used to perform those tasks are no longer needed?
It is a movement that has clearly already begun, as evidenced by Thursday's employment report highlighting the notable fall in graduate hiring in accounting and finance.
There are signs of it too across big tech, an industry that Ireland has become so reliant on for employment.
It was AIB that made headlines this week with its big AI rollout which prompted trade union worries.
We can expect a lot of similar announcements, and expressions of concern, over the coming months and years as AI continues to transform workplaces.