With companies expecting AI to improve productivity, the playbook for raising productivity through AI at this point appears to have narrowed to 2 options.

A recent Wall Street Journal (WSJ) report said one is a cost-cutting model through layoffs. The other is to refrain from layoffs for now and instead have existing workers do more with AI.

Moves by companies pushing layoffs under the banner of AI appear to be standing out this year. A survey by IT market research firm Gartner of 350 mid-level managers or above found that about 80 percent of companies using AI agents, intelligent automation or autonomous technologies are reducing headcount.

Major companies such as Microsoft, Meta and Oracle have already announced large-scale layoffs citing AI, or are in the process of carrying them out.

Block, the fintech company behind Square and Cash App, drew attention in February by saying it would cut its workforce by as much as 40 percent. Atlassian, a maker of enterprise collaboration software, also decided in March to cut about 1,600 employees, about 10 percent of its total workforce, to invest in AI and strengthen enterprise sales.

More recently, Coinbase, the largest cryptocurrency exchange in the United States, said it would cut 14 percent of its staff, saying AI is changing the way it works. Online payments company PayPal is pursuing a 20 percent cut over the next 2 to 3 years as part of expanding AI adoption. Coinbase CEO Brian Armstrong (브라이언 암스트롱) said, "As AI increasingly enters Coinbase operations, we will cut several hundred staff," and added, "Employees will manage AI agents so they can do more work."

But there are also claims that Coinbase's announced layoffs are not much related to AI.

The Information said Coinbase's recent restructuring followed a large hiring push last year. At the time, its headcount rose 31 percent to 4,951, the highest year-end level since it began tallying annual employee figures after its 2021 listing. It said Coinbase's staff count would still be far higher than at the end of 2023 even after this restructuring.

On the other hand, some companies believe they can use AI to generate more output and maintain their current staffing levels. That means no layoffs, but it also means employees have to do more work with AI.

Music streaming company Spotify is one of them. The WSJ said Spotify co-president Gustav Soderstrom (구스타브 소더스트롬) said, "We could immediately turn productivity gains into labour cost savings and reduce headcount. Or we can keep the size of the workforce broadly the same, but get more done," adding, "We are launching more products and providing greater value to consumers while keeping our workforce broadly the same."

Axon Enterprise, which makes Taser guns, is also keeping its distance for now from AI-led layoffs. Company President Josh Isner (조시 이스너) recently emailed about 5,000 employees to make clear it would not restructure for the time being because of AI. He said, "The company's business is still solid, and people will still be needed in a world dominated by AI."

Even at companies retaining staff, changes are emerging in how employees work. The WSJ cited HR experts as saying, "Many jobs will change significantly from what they are now, or be reshaped into forms that combine responsibilities across several roles at once."