#workforce-transformation

#workforce-transformation

Demand for coders has collapsed. Up until this year, programming has been considered one of the most secure, predictable, and lucrative career options. But now, we're seeing reports that employment for programmers has collapsed to its lowest level since 1980. On the surface, the connection is obvious. AI agents are able to write code and do so much faster and cheaper than professional programmers. Code is structured text, something AIs are particularly well-suited to understand and reproduce.

Professional services-lawyers, accountants, management consultants like myself-the ones who actually process, analyze, and deal with a lot of data, those are the skills that can be replaced by AI and agentic AI," said Anne Lim O'Brien, vice chair, partner, and global co-leader of the consumer products sector at executive search firm Heidrick & Struggles.

Marketing agencies are in a period of transformation, thanks in part to AI, and they're using the opportunity to think about purposeful reinvention, according to a survey of agency leaders. The report, " AI's Effect On The Marketing Industry" (registration required), from Sunup found AI is already responsible for changes in the hiring practices of many agencies. Agencies are fundamentally rethinking what they offer clients, how they structure their teams and what skills the marketer of 2030 will need to succeed, according to the report.

Truly unlocking the value of AI is about more than new technology; it's about leadership. Now that artificial intelligence is giving employees back hours of time every day, organizations must help their workers reimagine their roles beyond routine output and start contributing in ways that AI can't.

The pressure is mounting on business leaders to harness AI to make work faster, cheaper, and more efficient. That may thrill investors, but for employees, it could mean fewer jobs around the world. At the $320 billion software giant SAP, there will likely be a need for fewer engineers to deliver the same-or even greater-output, according to the company's CFO Dominik Asam.

"They know that they can operate with relative impunity, and they are now lining themselves up next to a President who will allow that to continue to happen."