Key insights

• KPMG data shows only 10% of CEOs plan layoffs from AI, but the companies actually cutting jobs tell a different story.
• Junior roles face the biggest risk because AI removes the entry-level work that builds foundational expertise.
• Physical presence and human skills like empathy, intuition, and judgment may be the most durable career advantages.

In Brief

Five major companies with Australian operations have announced significant job cuts, all pointing to AI as the driving force. Microsoft, Commonwealth Bank, WiseTech Global, Block, and Atlassian have collectively put thousands of positions on the chopping block. Futurist Michael McQueen appeared on Sunrise to discuss which jobs are most vulnerable, which are safest, and why the disappearance of junior roles could create a long-term skills gap.

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What happened

The cuts have come in quick succession. In May 2025, Microsoft announced 100 job cuts in Australia as it redirected spending toward AI. Two months later, Commonwealth Bank introduced an AI voice bot to handle customer calls, though public backlash forced the bank to reverse course and bring those jobs back.

The pace picked up in early 2026. WiseTech Global, a Sydney-based logistics software company, announced it would cut around 2,000 jobs over two years. The company calls it a "deep AI transformation." Block, the parent company of Afterpay, declared it was going "all-in on AI and automation", slashing 4,000 jobs worldwide. Then this week, Atlassian announced it would cut 10% of its global workforce, roughly 1,600 staff.

The numbers at a glance

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Context and background

The headlines paint a bleak picture, but survey data tells a more complicated story. A KPMG study released two weeks before the Sunrise segment found that only 10% of CEOs expect to reduce headcount because of AI. Over half said they actually expect to increase their workforce. McQueen noted the tension, pointing out that Atlassian's leadership had made similar reassurances in October 2025 before announcing cuts months later.

"We're not seeing mass unemployment by any stretch yet," McQueen said. But specific roles and professions are being hit. He described them as potentially being "the canary in the coal mine."

Job redesign, not just job replacement

McQueen argued that the bigger trend is not wholesale job replacement but widespread job redesign. Every profession will be reshaped by AI, even if the job title stays the same. This distinction matters because it shifts the conversation from "will I lose my job?" to "how will my job change?"

He pointed to the UK government's response as one model. The UK has announced free AI training for every adult, with a goal of training 10 million workers by 2030. Sunrise host Natalie Barr asked whether Australia should consider a similar program.

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The junior problem

One of the segment's most striking points was about what McQueen called the foundational skills gap. Right now, senior professionals can use AI as a productivity tool because they already have decades of expertise to draw on. A senior lawyer knows when an AI-drafted contract has errors. A senior analyst knows when a model's output looks off.

But what happens to the junior workers who never get the chance to build those skills? Barr raised the example of "baby lawyers," the junior associates whose research and drafting work is increasingly done by AI. If companies stop hiring entry-level workers, the pipeline of future senior talent dries up.

McQueen put it bluntly: "What if you don't ever get those foundational skills because the bottom rungs of the ladder are removed?" Once you have experience, AI becomes a superpower. Without that foundation, there is nothing to build on.

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What jobs are safest

McQueen identified two characteristics that make a job harder for AI to replace. The first is physical presence, jobs that require you to be somewhere and do something with your hands. The second is uniquely human skills like empathy, intuition, creativity, and the ability to build trust.

Hairdressing, he noted, comes out at the top of every "AI-safe jobs" list. Healthcare and education also rank highly because they involve unpredictable environments where flexibility and human judgment matter most.

AI excels in constrained, structured, predictable settings. The moment things get messy, humans still have the edge. McQueen suggested that curiosity may be one of the most valuable skills in an AI-driven economy. AI is good at generating answers, but it does not sit comfortably with ambiguity. Humans do.

He also used a word he said he had heard in commentary that week: "taste." The ability to judge what is meaningful, relevant, and actually helpful. That kind of judgment, McQueen argued, is something AI cannot replicate.

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Glossary

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Sources and resources