Factbox-Companies cutting jobs as investments shift toward AI

Group 1: AI Impact on Employment - Goldman Sachs warned that accelerating AI adoption could lead to higher U.S. unemployment this year, with job losses already occurring in sectors most exposed to automation [1] - Goldman economists estimated that AI was responsible for 5,000 to 10,000 monthly net job losses in the most exposed U.S. industries last year, accounting for 7% of total planned layoffs in January [2] Group 2: Company-Specific Layoffs Linked to AI - AGORA announced plans to lay off up to 166 employees, or 6.56% of its workforce, as part of a restructuring to improve its digital business [2] - ALLIANZ plans to cut up to 1,800 jobs in its travel insurance division due to AI replacing manual processes [3] - AMAZON confirmed 16,000 corporate job cuts as it pursues an AI- and efficiency-driven overhaul [3] - AUTODESK will shed about 1,000 jobs, or roughly 7% of its global workforce, redirecting spending to its cloud platform and AI initiatives [4] - BRITISH AMERICAN TOBACCO announced a new AI-driven productivity program expected to lead to job cuts, though specifics on affected workforce were not provided [4] - DOW will slash about 4,500 jobs, 13% of its total workforce, as it streamlines processes using automation and AI [5] - HP INC expects to cut 4,000 to 6,000 jobs globally by fiscal 2028 as it adopts AI [5] - MERCADOLIBRE laid off 119 people in an AI-expansion move [5] - META is cutting over 1,000 jobs at its Reality Labs unit and around 600 positions in its Superintelligence Labs as it pivots from the Metaverse to AI devices [6] - NIKE is laying off 775 employees to boost profits and accelerate automation [7]