What the data shows
AI-linked layoffs grabbed the spotlight this year, and the numbers back it up: Challenger, Gray & Christmas says employers primarily credited AI for nearly 40% of the layoffs they announced in May 2026. That set the tone for how companies framed workforce reductions.
But a countertrend is emerging. Experts call it "AI rebounding" - companies that trimmed roles for AI are bringing people back. Orgvue's March analysis found that 32% of organizations that reduced headcount because of AI ultimately rehired.
SHL, which commissioned Propeller Insights to run its study, polled more than a thousand U.S. employees and a similar number in the U.K. between June and July 2026, with a 5% margin of error. Nearly one in five U.S. respondents report losing their jobs to AI and later being invited back.
Why employers are reversing
Lucy Beaumont, SHL's global senior vice president for product and design, says some leaders realized they "pulled the plug too quickly" on people. In her view, AI does not substitute for "people that know the business, that know their customers, that have judgment, that can bring empathy, that have that human connection."
Harvard Business School professor of management practice Joseph Fuller warns against treating AI like any other software rollout. As he puts it, "in order to spend money on a new technology, we have to find some savings in the budget, and the way we've done that with previous technology deployments is by laying people off." The payoff shows up when AI is paired with human know-how: "The more you know about important processes, the more value you can extract from the AI."
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Beaumont points out that several large companies - among them Ford and Amazon - rolled back AI-related layoffs over the past year. Her bottom line for leaders: the winners will be those "using AI to optimize what they do," not those using it only to trim expenses.
What returning workers want and how they are responding
Most workers are open to a comeback, but not at any price. Only 6.6% of U.S. respondents say they would never return. Nearly half would want a sizable pay bump to rejoin. Another 43% would expect "written guarantees" of job security, 40% would need "full transparency" on how AI will be used in their role, and 30% say they would require leadership to apologize or acknowledge mistakes as a key condition.
Beaumont says returnees "are going to be a lot more demanding" and above all want reassurance: "How do I know that this isn't going to happen again?" Rehiring alone does not rebuild morale, she adds. "You've really broken the trust with those people," and that shows up in reduced "productivity and engagement." Culture, once dented, is hard to restore.
Many employees are hedging by sharpening their skills. In the U.S., 44% say they are teaching themselves AI tools, 42.6% are deepening industry-specific expertise, 40% are building interpersonal and leadership abilities, and 38% are strengthening creative and strategic thinking. Fuller calls adaptability the most crucial capability as AI evolves, urging workers to practice using AI and to "seek out opportunities" to upskill. He also expects "permanent tumult" inside organizations as staffing keeps being recalibrated around AI.
The bottom line for your portfolio
Rehiring after AI cuts is not a one-off. With Ford and Amazon already reversing some decisions, and 32% of AI-driven downsizers rehiring according to Orgvue, investors should expect churn. SHL's findings suggest rehiring brings costs beyond payroll - higher pay, job security assurances, transparency on AI use, and the long haul of fixing culture and trust.
If you own names that touted quick savings from AI-led reductions, build in the possibility that some of those savings unwind. Meanwhile, workers are getting fluent in AI tools and doubling down on skills that complement automation. That is likely to favor companies that blend AI with experienced teams rather than swap one for the other.
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