A new survey of America’s top marketing executives suggests companies are preparing to trim headcount as they lean harder on artificial intelligence. The biggest impact of AI, the research hints, won’t be clever chatbots or novelty deepfakes; it will be pink slips.
In November, executive search firm Spencer Stuart asked 90 chief marketing officers how aggressively they planned to use AI to reduce payrolls, according to the Wall Street Journal. More than one in three said they expect layoffs within the next 12 to 24 months as they deploy more automated systems and intelligent software.
For the largest companies, the appetite for cuts is even sharper. Nearly half of CMOs at firms valued above $20 billion said they anticipate significant staff reductions as AI becomes embedded in their operations.
The survey focused on the sprawling world of corporate marketing — an ecosystem that includes copywriters, graphic designers, social media teams, brand strategists, data analysts, communications professionals, and PR staff. With more than six million Americans working in marketing roles, according to the American Marketing Association, that’s a lot of jobs under the microscope.
And the timing is especially ominous. Just last week, the Bureau of Labor Statistics reported that 7.8 million Americans are unemployed — the highest number in four years. Major tech firms have already slashed thousands of positions, hiring has slowed, and private payroll data shows smaller businesses tightening their belts as well.
Now, the survey suggests things could get even rougher.
Executives pointed to three main drivers behind the looming cuts: unwinding the pandemic-era hiring binge, bracing for a slowing economy, and accelerating the rollout of AI tools inside their own companies. In other words, fewer humans, more machines — and faster.
Top CEOs have not exactly tried to soften the message. Jamie Dimon, CEO of JPMorgan Chase, the largest bank in the U.S., recently said bluntly that “AI will eliminate jobs” in an interview with Fox Business. His advice to workers was equally blunt: sharpen your thinking, learn to communicate, learn to write, and stay adaptable.
He’s not alone. Walmart CEO Doug McMillon, Ford’s Jim Farley, and Amazon HR chief Beth Galetti have all issued similar warnings: those who don’t learn to work with AI may find themselves replaced by it.
But not everyone believes the robots are coming for entire careers.
Abigail Wright, a senior business advisor at the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, told the Daily Mail that many of these dire predictions are overstated. The real shift, she argued, is happening at the level of tasks, not whole jobs. Workers who learn how to direct AI, rather than compete with it, will likely be the most resilient.
According to Wright, most marketing roles appear safe — at least for now. Instead of replacing people outright, AI is speeding up content decisions, brainstorming, editing, testing campaigns, and crunching data, often with humans still very much in the loop.
Still, Americans have already begun to see AI’s fingerprints on the marketing world.
Coca-Cola’s iconic “Holidays Are Coming” campaign — snowy towns, glowing lights, red trucks rolling through the night, and those famous polar bears — was crafted with the help of AI. The soft drink giant leaned on the technology again this year to build new holiday ads.
They’re not alone. McDonald’s, Amazon, Nike, BMW, Heinz, Adobe, Starbucks, Salesforce, Nutella, and vodka brand Svedka have all used AI-generated visuals and videos in recent advertising campaigns.
Whether that future looks exciting or unsettling may depend on where you sit. For executives, AI promises efficiency and cost savings. For workers, it raises a simple, uncomfortable question:
When intelligent machines get better at doing the creative, analytical, and administrative work people have long done — who gets to stay?
