Signal Where generative AI eliminated roles, 54% of leaders upskilled or redeployed the people

Summary

McKinsey research examines what employers did when generative AI made an entire role unnecessary. In such cases, 54 percent of leaders chose to upskill, reskill, or move the affected employees into other positions. Only about one in five simply eliminated the role outright. The report uses this to argue that employers need new ways of deploying people rather than defaulting to layoffs. It frames the wider picture as an occupational transition in which automation removes some tasks while new kinds of work appear, managed through reskilling, internal mobility, and transparent workforce planning.