Is AI Taking Jobs Away From People Like Me? What September's Layoff Numbers Show (2026)
The short answer
Some, yes. And nobody asks you first.
This year AI was the top reason US companies gave for cutting jobs.
Through September, employers announced 573,195 job cuts. AI was named in 120,136 of them. That is about one in five, by the October 1 count from Challenger, Gray & Christmas.
And Amazon put it in writing. In June 2025, its CEO told staff he expected AI to "reduce our total corporate workforce."
A memo can move your job. It cannot move the people who trust you.
What this guide answers
How many jobs did AI take this year?
Quick answer: companies named AI in 120,136 cuts through September. In September alone, it came fifth.
You read it on your phone at the kitchen counter, then read it again. Another company, another round, and the word AI in the second line.
Challenger, Gray & Christmas counts the layoff plans US employers announce. So far this year, AI leads its list of reasons.
Then September got quieter. Employers announced 43,281 cuts, the fewest for a September since 2022. AI came fifth, with 3,961.
Twenty minutes, and you decide nothing on the call
Working out what comes next? Book the twenty minutes. I will answer whatever you ask.
You can always say no.The government count was quiet too. In September, employers added 29,000 jobs and unemployment sat at 4.2%. The Bureau of Labor Statistics said both "changed little."
And jobs like yours? In March, the International Labour Organization looked at jobs held mostly by women. In the countries it studied, they are almost twice as likely as jobs held mostly by men to be exposed to generative AI. It named secretaries, receptionists, payroll clerks and accounting assistants.
Exposed means AI can do part of the work. It does not mean the job is gone.
The new tool your boss keeps bringing up. The training video you watched twice. The reorg email at five on a Friday. The young hire who asks how the old system worked. That feeling the job is learning from you so it can do without you.
None of that is a verdict on your work. Some of it starts in a memo you never get to read.
What did Amazon tell its own staff about AI?
Quick answer: that it expected AI to shrink its office staff. Then came two rounds of cuts, about 30,000 roles.
You want a job that values what you know. Nothing wrong with wanting that. The trouble is what one memo can do to it.
In June 2025, Amazon's CEO, Andy Jassy, wrote to his staff about AI. "We will need fewer people doing some of the jobs that are being done today," he wrote.
He expected it to "reduce our total corporate workforce" in the next few years.
In October 2025, Amazon announced about 14,000 corporate roles cut. That memo asked the question for you: "Some may ask why we're reducing roles when the company is performing well."
In January 2026, about 16,000 more. That memo asked if cuts every few months were the new rhythm. Its answer: "That's not our plan."
On August 31, KOMO News reported a Washington state filing for 121 more Amazon layoffs in Seattle, Bellevue and Sumner. Permanent, starting October 1. The notice did not say which departments.
You do not get a vote on a memo. And the reason inside it can change.
Is AI really why the jobs are going?
Quick answer: sometimes. Two days after announcing 14,000 cuts, Amazon's CEO said they were "not even really AI driven."
You may already have a doubt, and it is fair. Maybe the headlines are bigger than the change.
On October 30, 2025, Jassy was asked about the cuts on Amazon's earnings call. He told them it was "not really financially driven, and it's not even really AI driven, not right now. It's culture."
So the June memo said AI. The October answer said culture. Either way, the cuts went ahead.
And some companies are walking it back. In Robert Half data sent to CNBC, 32% of US hiring managers said they cut a role mainly because of AI. Later, they hired for the same job, or one like it.
The job they cut was the job they had to fill again. What you know still counts.
So you close the laptop and look out the window for a minute. Not to quit. To work out what is yours.
The second row is Amazon's own answer. I left it in.
| What you hear | What the record shows | Where it says so |
|---|---|---|
| AI is behind most layoffs | AI was named in about 1 in 5 cuts this year, and came fifth in September | Challenger, Gray & Christmas, October 2026 |
| Amazon cut 14,000 jobs because of AI | Its CEO said that cut was "not even really AI driven, not right now" | CNN, October 2025 |
| Once AI takes a role, it is gone | 32% of US hiring managers said they cut a role mainly because of AI, then hired for the same or a similar one | Robert Half data, CNBC, July 2026 |
| Office jobs are the safe ones | Female-dominated jobs are almost twice as likely as male-dominated ones to be exposed to generative AI | International Labour Organization, March 2026 |
Nobody hands you that table at work. Keep it, then ask me the fair question.
Isn't this just another pitch?
Quick answer: partly, and here is the part I will not dress up.
In September, AI was fifth on the list. Your job may be fine for years.
Building something of your own is not a paycheck. If you have a job, keep it.
Switch to America sells straight from the manufacturer. No middlemen and no markup. No minimums, no maximums.
You pay what a brand new shopper pays. And there is no list of ten people you know. I do not teach that.
I will not hand you a number to expect either. Nobody honest can.
What would I do first on Monday?
Quick answer: write down what only you know. Then start something beside the job, not instead of it.
Write down the questions only you can answer
Open a notebook, not the laptop. Write every question people bring to you at work. The fix nobody else remembers. The customer who asks for you by name.
No tool has learned that list yet. And you take it with you.
Notice who trusts you, not the job title
Not a list to sell to. Just notice who already comes to you for answers. That trust took you years.
No memo reaches that trust. It is yours, and it always was.
Check whatever comes next before you say yes
Including me. Ask what it costs to start, all in, and what happens to your customers if you stop. Here are the questions I would ask any offer first. If somebody dodges one, that is your answer.
Shannon's Advice
Straight talk from ShannonI do not call them grocery stores. They are poison centers meant to do you and your family harm. It is not just the brands who are doing the harm, it is the stores themselves. They allow these toxic products on their shelves. People are sick and dying. This is a very serious matter. How can we ever trust them again?
We can't trust them. That is where Switch to America comes in. We are a new supply chain, built on family values, trust and affordability.
You do not have to take my word for it. The proof is in my blog posts, the recalls, the lawsuits and the fines. Also, inside my Switch Circle private community, we talk about real solutions.
Women come to me exhausted, in pain, stressed out, and on a list of prescriptions they never wanted. I have spent over 20 years helping women get off prescription medications. I help families reclaim their health.
We cannot stop them. I have stopped expecting to. However, we can stop walking into their stores. We are linking arms and together taking our control back. Control of our health and our finances.
Start by clicking the link below and booking the twenty minutes.
Where to check me
- Challenger, Gray & Christmas, October 1, 2026 report (archived copy). 573,195 cuts through September. AI named in 120,136, about 21%, the top reason this year. September: 43,281 cuts, AI fifth with 3,961. Plain translation: loud year, quieter month.
- Andy Jassy's note to Amazon staff, June 17, 2025. He expected AI to "reduce our total corporate workforce." Plain translation: the plan was in writing.
- Amazon, October 28, 2025. About 14,000 corporate roles. Amazon, January 28, 2026. About 16,000 more. Plain translation: two rounds in three months.
- CNN, October 30, 2025. Jassy: "not even really AI driven, not right now." Plain translation: the reason can change after the cut.
- KOMO News, August 31, 2026. A Washington filing for 121 permanent Amazon layoffs from October 1. Plain translation: the cuts kept coming.
- CNBC, July 1, 2026. Robert Half data: 32% of US hiring managers said they cut a role mainly because of AI and later rehired for the same or a similar one. Plain translation: experience still counts.
- Bureau of Labor Statistics, October 2, 2026. September: 29,000 jobs added, unemployment 4.2%. Plain translation: a slow market, not a crash.
- International Labour Organization, March 5, 2026. Female-dominated jobs are almost twice as likely as male-dominated ones to be exposed to generative AI. Plain translation: the risk sits near desks like yours.
Who do you become?
It is a Tuesday in November. You still log in at eight. You are not refreshing the news at lunch anymore.
The notebook sits by the lamp. The list of questions is longer than you thought. Something you started sits beside the job, and it is yours.
A memo can still move your job. It cannot reach the people who trust you. You become the one with something of your own.
Twenty minutes, on video, no slides
You ask, I answer, including the awkward ones. If it is not for you I would rather find out on the call.
You can always say no, and there is no follow up if you do.What else are women asking me about this?
Will AI take my job?
Nobody honest can promise you either way. This year AI was named in about one in five announced cuts. In September it came fifth.
Are companies rehiring after AI layoffs?
Some are. In Robert Half data sent to CNBC, 32% of US hiring managers said they cut a role mainly because of AI. Later, they hired for the same job, or one like it.
Is a big company like Amazon safer?
Size did not stop the cuts. Amazon cut about 14,000 corporate roles in October 2025 and about 16,000 more in January 2026. Its October memo said the company was performing well.
Do I have to quit my job to start something?
No. Keep the paycheck. What you build sits beside it, not on top of it.
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